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Trollhattan, or Market Hat 



HALCYON DAYS 



IN 



NORWAY, FRANCE AND THE DOLOMITES 



BY 



/ 



WILLIAM BEMENT LENT 



lasa. 




NEW YORK 
BONNELL, SILVER & CO. 



24 WEST 22D STREET 1 //O COPjES RECE/VFD 






TBE LIBRARY 
or CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



N778 



Copyright, 1898, 

BY 

BONNELL, SILYER & CO. 



All rights reserved. 



IN 

LOYAL REMEMBRANCE 

OF 

A. L. E. AND A. D. F. R. 

WITH WHOM FOR LONG YEARS I TOOK SWEET COUNSEL 

AND WALKED IN PLEASANT COMPANY ; 

BUT WHOSE EYES CLOSED 

UPON THE TROUBLOUS AND HALCYON DAYS OF 

THIS EARTHLY EXISTENCE, 

ERE THIS RECORD 

OF DELIGHTFUL AND INSTRUCTIVE WANDERING, 

WAS FINISHED. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Books of travel in Norway are not so numerous, 
that there is not abundant room for one more. 
Kepeated requests for information as to modes of 
travel, accommodations and routes, have led to the 
preparation of this account of a trip, with many 
useful and unavoidable details, in a continuous 
story which may be followed step by step, by any 
one able to travel at all, with unfailing delight, 
and without fatigue. 

Provincial France, to the majority of our peri- 
patetic countrymen, is a sealed book. It is a pity, 
for it is crowded with novelty and interest and 
repays a hundred-fold. 

Notes in regard to the Dolomite country are so 
scarce, that it is felt to be a kindness to the travel- 
ling public to offer these, which if followed will 
insure a most satisfactory impression of that won- 
derful district. 

Like the Norwegian notes, these only portray 
that which can be done by the ordinary tourist 
with ease and comfort in a carriage, — ignoring nec- 
essarily the numerous charming side tours and 
numberless glorious pedestrian excursions with 
which both of the enchanted countries abound. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Norway : 

Northward Ho ! 1 1 

" " II 8 

III 15 

The Play With Hamlet Omitted. 1 22 

" " " II 30 

" " " III 38 

'• " " IV 45 

" " '• V 53 

O'er Land and Sea. I 60 

" " II 71 

III 81 

«' " IV 93 

Pasture Near the Mountains 105 

Across Country by Valders. 1 114 

" " " II 125 

France : 

Patient Waiting, No Loss 135 

Along the Shore 1-17 

One Way of Doing It 163 

Houses Left Desolate 17C 

In Periculo Maris 177 

Substance and Shadow 188 

That Nothing be Lost 201 

Two Cathedral Towns 210 

V 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGEi 

In Sunshine and Shadow 223 

A Modern Bethesda 237 

Here a Little, There a Little 246 

The Fulfilment of a Dream 255 

Unto the End 2fi4 

The Dolomites : 

By a Way We Knew Not 279 

A Gracious Opening 287 

In the Heart of Them 295 

A Eoyal Progress 3q^ 

Over the Hills and Far Away 313 

In the Shadow of a Great Rock 33O 

All's Well That Ends Well 34I 

Austrian Tyrol : 
In a Poet's Footsteps 355 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



NORWAY: 




^ Trollhattan, or Market Hat, 


Frontispiece 


In the Raftsund, 


31 


North Cape, 


. 47 


'a Carriole, 


60 


A Stolkjaerre, 


. 82 


■ In the Naerofjord, 


94 


Borgund Church, . 


. 107 


FRANCE: 




■* Chateau of Maintenon, 


196 


' Interior Chartres Cathedral, 


. 213 


" Chateau of La Garaye, 


232 


Maison Carree. Nimes, . 


. 251 


' Pont du Gard, . 


269 


DOLOMITES: 




Cortina, 


308 


Durren-see — Mt. Cristallo , 


. 323 


Drei Zinnen, 


328 



HALCYON DAYS IN NOEWAY. 



NORTHWAED HO ! 

FROM PARIS TO TRON'DHJEM. 



Such a multitude of tourists, '' upon pleasure 
bent/' were of the same mind as ourselves, that 
when we reached Paris after an ideal trip through 
Spain, we found to our dismay that the steamer 
lists for the North Cape were filled for weeks 
ahead ! Unwilling to risk deferring until another 
year, we finally accepted berths, or as the English 
say, ^' cabins," upon the steamer sailing from 
Trondhjem on the twentieth of July. It was, 
however, with much misgiving because of the 
lateness of the date and many a fear of unpro- 
pitious and unfavorable weather, although we 
were assured it was a lottery at best. It may be 
so, but comparison of our after experience with 
that of various parties representing almost every 
date, inclines us to advise leaving Trondhjem not 

1 



2 NORWAY. 

later than July lOth and as near July 1st as pos- 
sible. From Paris to Trondhjem is along stretch, 
but if one has the time it can be so delightfully 
broken as to prove a pleasure journey all the way. 
From Paris to Cologne was an unbroken journey 
of ten mortal hours, but it afforded characteristic 
glimpses of France, Belgium and Germany without 
giving anything of marked interest. The portion 
of France traversed was level, verdant and monoto- 
nous ; the Belgian territory was more diversified 
while the general look of thrift and prosperity, 
and in a number of manufacturing towns through 
which we passed, the appearance of business gave a 
pleasant impression of the condition of the people. 
At the German frontier we passed the usual farcical 
customs examination, after which we were given 
twenty-five minutes for " afternoon tea.^' And 
then we passed over more level country, all so trim 
and orderly, with everywhere the red-tiled roofs 
among the green of trees and upon every side the 
ripening grain and well-cultivated fields, with once 
in a while a quaint windmill. The stations at 
the larger towns were fine and handsome. They 
do this sort of thing better than we do. Although 
it was 7 : 45 p. m. when we entered the palatial sta- 
tion at Cologne, the sun had not yet gone down. 
In the twilight we saw the turrets, flying buttresses 
and the stately spires of the wonderful Cathedral 
by the Ehine, rise solemnly above the busy city, 
like a perpetual and impressive acknowledgment 
of the Lord of all the earth, and slept quietly, lit- 
erally in the shadows of the consecrated walls. 



NORTHWARD HO! 3 

The morning gave ample time for a visit to the 
Museum where hangs the familiar and beautiful 
portrait of Queen Louise, as fair, graceful and 
lovely a creation as canvas can boast. The trailing 
gossamer and gold-embroidered robes are exqui- 
sitely painted ; the arms and hands are lovely, 
while the radiant face has no suggestion of the sor- 
row, trouble and discipline through which the chas- 
tened and purified character passed ere she laid the 
burden down and obtained a heavenly crown. We 
sat also for a while quietly within the Cathedral walls 
which, after the dingy, tumble-down, dead Spanish 
structures, seemed wondrously clean and tidy. Be- 
ing pure Gothic, the nave soars aAvay with ceiling 
lifted high by the stately columns, with all the 
grace and artlessness of nature. Looking diag- 
onally across the interior, the scene is like a trim 
forest of slender gray-trunked trees. The only in- 
harmonious note is the glass, which is showy and 
gaudy, lacking the solemn unctuous richness of 
the glorious colorings and the old geometrical and 
conventional designs seen in English and more 
ancient minsters. The changes and improve- 
ments in the last few years in the vicinity, such as 
the removal of old buildings, the erection of pa- 
latial hotels, railway offices, fine station, and the 
opening of a broad plaza amount to a complete 
transformation. Coleridge would have difficulty 
now in locating the historic '^ two and seventy well- 
defined and separate smells," but no trouble in 
finding as great a number of places where alone 
the ^^ genuine original Johann Farina Cologne " is 



4 NORWAY. 

for sale. Seven hours of railway travel over a 
trim, finished and almost level country with pretty 
villages with tall spires, hayfields made pictu- 
resque by groups of men and women at work, 
quaint windmills with gaunt, ungainly arms, and 
red-tiled cottages without number, and a glimpse 
of Bremen with its palatial station, brought us in 
the late afternoon to Hamburg. 

Now Hamburg, if we had ever given it a 
thought, we would have said, being only an im- 
portant commercial city and port of entry, and 
having been devastated several times by fire, would 
have little of interest. But even in the long drive 
from the station to the hotel we were much enter- 
tained by the interesting glimpses of markets, 
quaint old streets and droll houses, the canals and 
the commonplace but handsome modern build- 
ings. Two immense basins of water that are really 
lakes in size, one being full a mile in circumfer- 
ence and the other still larger, surrounded by fine 
business houses, hotels and private residences, with 
shaded walks along the borders, make Hamburg a 
beautiful city. Separating these basins is a neck 
of land and bridge forming a continuous pleasure- 
ground and promenade with lovely views on every 
side. The air was smoky, like London and the 
buildings begrimed in much the same way. A 
beautiful sunset with a glory of tinted clouds made 
the scene with its varied outlines indistinct in the 
haze, extremely Turneresque and Venetian. A 
drive of a couple of hours, along the border of the 
basins, through the fine residential portion, past 



NORTHWARD HO ! 5 

blocks of handsome houses and the quaint Rath- 
haus, the market, and the Church of 8t. Xichohis, 
a fine structure of tliirteenth century Gothic with 
numerous statues and a lofty tower, the third in 
height in Europe, and for a while in the immedi- 
ate suburbs past numerous tasteful villas in the 
midst of beautifully kejDt and flower-crowded 
grounds quite equal to England, made prosaic 
Hamburg, the fourth most important commercial 
city in Europe, a pleasant and cheery memory. 

Crossing a canal, we looked along a vista of 
quaint, gabled houses, which curved out of sight, 
while beyond, above the droll roofs and chimney- 
pots of the ancient houses, rose an old-fashioned 
queer-shaped belfry or steeple, sheathed with cop- 
per which had weathered to an exquisite verdigris 
bronze. When the sunlight broke suddenly through 
the clouds and flooded the spire, the effect of the 
unusual color and quaint outline became extremely 
fascinating and picturesque, quite equal to the 
older German towns. 

To avoid a start in early morning we took a train 
at four-thirty o^clock and passed the night at Kiel. 
Soon after we left, the clouds unburdened them- 
selves and our view of the country quite all the 
way (some two hours and a quarter) was through a 
dense veil of mist and white sheet of rain. The 
only marked features were the rank hedgerows 
and peculiar one- storied, very wide and tall thatched 
roofed houses with end gables often showing triple 
rows of windows. The growing grain, vividly 
green in the moisture, gave the country an exceed- 



6 NORWAY, 

ingly fertile and well-tilled appearance. Neii- 
munster. handsomely built up and with large cloth 
factories, was the most important place upon the 
route. We found Kiel exceedingly entertaining, 
for being the principal naval port of Germany 
and the great centre of trade between the Danish 
Islands and continental Europe, it is a busy place, 
and up and down its two bustling streets all the 
evening strolled middies and sailors and uniformed 
officers with clanking swords, and a crowd of 
townspeople and visitors. Along the principal 
street are a large number of pretty shops, many 
odd and quaint buildings with double chateau 
roofs, the older ones with each story projecting 
over the one below and with rows of continuous 
windows and whimsical old gables, all in some 
way suggesting Chester. In the early morning 
we drove through the town, beside the quays, past 
a double row of villas upon a densely shaded road 
along the shore for a mile or more to Bellevue, 
before reaching which we skirted a large forest- 
park with drives and fine trees. The detached 
villas with grounds embellished with a wealth of 
superb standard roses and a profusion of Virginia 
creeper, were charming. The hotel was delight- 
fully located upon a ridge overlooking the water 
and out toward the sea. Around the forest-park 
and past many more lovely villas and grounds and 
then back into the town, and fifteen minutes later 
we were aboard the steamer for Korsor. The wind 
was blowing freshly, and here and there the clouds 
were rolling heavily up, but our voyage of four or 



NORTHWARD HO ! 7 

five hours proved an unusually quiet one. We did 
not seem entirely out of sight of land for more 
than an hour. Sometimes only a faint line like a 
cloud along the horizon; again the Danish Islands, 
formerly Schleswig, were in plain sight. 

A wait of two hours at the Danish port of Korsor 
for the passengers from the south by another route, 
followed our landing and Customs examination. 
Then in the cool hush of early evening we sped 
along a level country, past great woods of Nor- 
way spruce, low-thatched farmhouses, square 
stepped gabled church towers and carefully tended 
herds and fields, and at half-past eight o^clock 
entered that charming northern capital, Copen- 
hagen. 



NORTHWAED HO ! 

(C0N"TINUED). 

A FORMER visit to Copenhagen was such a delight- 
ful experience, we shrank from possible disap- 
pointment, now that the glamour of novelty would 
be removed. But the pretty city of the Danish 
King, with its Thorwaldsen Museum, that wonder- 
ful exhibit of one man^s artistic creations, — its 
Church with solemn presence of Christ and the 
Apostles by the same Master, — the dainty collection 
at Rosenberg Castle of jewels, plate, furniture 
and other mementos of a line of Sovereigns, and 
the enjoyable general aspect suffered not from 
familiarity. 

The day passed profitably and delightfully, and 
at nine o^clock in the evening, although light 
enough for the hour of six, we turned regretfully 
away. Already had we come into the country of the 
weird, mysterious twilight. ISTo wonder the Nor- 
wegians in our country are homesick at times for 
the lovely twilight, for we have nothing to compare 
with this quieting, peaceful, holy time of the day. 
As we moved out of the city we noticed quite upon 
the outskirts a large enclosed space with a multi- 
tude of tiny cheap cottages, so small we wondered 
whether it could be any sort of camp-meeting 
settlement. A voluble young German in our 

8 



NORTHWARD HO ! 9 

compartment explained it by saying that it was a 
space allotted for the use of working people and 
that they came out and stayed as they liked in the 
summer and cultivated their little garden patch, 
while in the winter they stayed in the town, adding 
^^de rich dey go to de mountains/' and '^^de poor 
dey come here." In the quiet, pensive twilight 
we glided past little lakes, pretty country and 
villages, and in two hours reached, in the darkness, 
Helsingborg, where a boat is taken to Helsingor 
(Shakespeare's Elsinore), some two and one half 
miles across the sound which separates Zealand 
from the Swedish provinces. We saw little else 
but the fa9ade of an imposing railway station in 
the style of Rosenberg Castle, with square towers 
and a tall Renaissance gable, — and the buildings 
along the water's edge brilliant with electric lights. 
At Helsingor we were promised a '' sleeper." It 
proved to be a first-class car in compartments, 
with blankets, pillows, a curtain between the seats, 
electric lights and a general toilet room. It was 
very comfortable, far better than sitting bolt 
upright all night. In the early morning we looked 
out upon a lonely landscape with rocky hillsides, 
stone walls and houses of wood, all quite suggest- 
ive of Vermont. As we skurried along, the 
country did not lose these characteristics, although 
blended with them were little villages and long 
country roads with peasants hurrying to the fields 
and markets. The long day had evidently begun 
for them as well as for us. Across the country 
frequently appeared a slender church spire and in 



10 NORWAY. 

one place a very large brick cliurcli was perched 
upon an abrupt rock quite near the railway. One 
notices every detail in a new country. About 
seven-fifteen o^clock we arrived at the station of 
Gothenburg, but not the town, for that lay ap- 
parently three quarters of a mile away. Close by 
was a queer old circular fortress with pointed roof, 
capped by a lion rampant, with four additions at 
base like the radiations of a star. As a new train 
was to be made up and a half hour was allowed for 
breakfast, we went into the station restaurant. 
How funny it all seemed, although we had seen the 
same arrangement in a former trip. A table built 
around a column in centre of room was set with 
huge piles of plates, with forks and spoons without 
number, while around them were certainly a dozen 
large plates of cold meats, tongue, fish, etc., with 
stewed pie-plant, fruits and pickles, — an indigesti- 
ble lot, to say the least. At one side, upon a pretty 
table, was a silver coffee and teapot and a number 
of pretty blue teacups. Small tables lined the 
sides of the room. Every one helped himself as 
many times as he liked, and upon leaving the room 
paid less than twenty-five cents ! After leaving, 
the scenery was quiet and tame. Along the horizon 
upon either side, for a long way, was a line of 
sparsely wooded hills ; beside us was a little river 
with steamboats of modest proportions. All day 
long we did not seem as far away from our own 
land as when we looked upon stone houses, thatched 
roofs and endless hedgerows. The houses of 
wood, handsome painted villas, and many a wayside 



NORTHWARD HO ! 11 

house and farm buildings painted red or left to 
^' weather," together with the stone walls and a 
kind of rail fence, made it seem like some outlying 
district of our own land. The piles of wood, 
battered milk-cans at the stations, the lumber 
interests, saw-mills, etc., with scraggy growth of 
trees, quite recalled a trip through Canada. Again, 
the low-lying evergreen-covered and lonesome 
country often had the wilderness air of the 
Adirondacks. Except in the neighborhood of 
several fjords, at no time did the scenery approach 
the fine or grand ; but it was quieting, restful and 
pretty, and the balsamic air, strong, refreshing and 
invigorating. At ten o^clock we reached Troll- 
hattan, where, a good half mile distant, is a succes- 
sion of falls and cascades that are much admired, 
not so much for height as for variety and volume. 
It looked very pretty, for there were many jaunty 
little summer cottages with the showy flag of 
Sweden profusely displayed in honor of an Austrian 
excursion party. 

At one point farther on the road was cut 
out of the side of a rocky ridge, and we looked 
down upon a thick mass of evergreens and off 
upon a level plain, a mosaic of harvest-fields 
with here and there a little pool. The wild 
flowers were not so varied and abundant as 
farther south, but great patches of '^fire-weed," 
blue harebells, white meadow rue and yellow flow- 
ers were passed at times, while the pink clover- 
fields were as pretty as parterres. About one o^clock, 
through groves of fine white-barked poplars, with 



12 NORWAY. 

exquisite glimpses of waters, islands, or wooded 
banks, we came to Ed, where is a railway restau- 
rant at which we stopped for lunch. It was very 
festive and charming, for we had our lunch upon a 
little belvedere in the rear, most picturesquely 
perched upon a height overlooking a fjord, — the 
" Stora Lee/' The view was like many a vista 
along the Hudson, of smooth waters, great rolling 
hill banks and a most charmingly varied coast- 
line, — and the air being slightly hazy, the whole 
scene was exquisitely soft and dreamy. The pro- 
vision for man^s physical wants was upon a large 
and liberal scale. The long table in centre of room 
was loaded with toothsome viands. Two great 
tureens of smoking, delicious soup, a great platter 
of boiled fish, an enormous piece of roast beef, 
another of veal, and a huge ham, were the substan- 
tials. Vegetables and a dozen or more kinds of 
cold meats and fish, pickles of various sorts, stewed 
fruit, two or three cold fancy puddings, and cheese 
and biscuit in variety, with piles of pretty plates, 
m.ade a tempting-looking repast. As usual, it was 
a regular '^'^ go as you please," each one helping 
himself and as he passed out paying fifty cents for 
it all ! The attendants were in bright-colored, 
Swedish native costumes, which with sundry deco- 
rations gave the room the appearance of some 
entertainment at a fair. The occasional views of 
fjords and little lakes, all the afternoon, were charm- 
ing and enchanting. A stop of fifteen minutes 
was made at Fredrikshald, upon a hill command- 
ing which is an old fortress of much historical 






NORTHWARD HO ! 13 

interest. The town is mi important commercial 
one and a centre of the great lumber traffic. Sit- 
uated upon and overlooking the Idde Fjord, it 
commands a beautiful outlook. To one side of the 
railway, men were ^^chute-ing " finished lumber of 
various kinds along an elevated raceway. The 
glimpses in every direction were extremely pictu- 
resque and the large station was most gorgeously 
decorated with flags, escutcheons and massive 
festoons and garlands of oak leaves, in honor 
of the Austrian party several hours behind us. 
Before reaching there we passed such sombre, 
extensive and impressive thick forests of ever- 
greens, as solitary and lonely as if the foot of 
man had never disturbed the primeval stillness 
of them. 

At Fredrikstadt the lumber business looms up as 
the one pursuit. All the late afternoon the rapidly 
changing views were enchanting, wdiile there was 
little that was striking or uncommon. Tlie con- 
stant coming into sight of the little fjords with 
their picturesque, river-like banks, kept us on the 
alert. x\s w^e neared Christiania, the scenery be- 
came finer, the hills bolder and the frequent 
glimpses of the great Christiania Fjord dotted 
with islands and the shore below us with a fringe 
of fine villas with handsome grounds made a lovely, 
changing panorama. Everywhere upon the shore, 
or perched upon rocky islands or fairly buried in 
the trees, appeared or peeped jaunty little cottages 
quite like our Thousand Islands resort. 

It was half-past seven when we reached Chris^ 



14 NORWAY. 

tiania, but the waters were shimmering with golden 
sunshine and the air was as warm and hazy as if 
the hands upon the dial had marked only the hour 
of four or five. 



NORTHWARD HO ! 

(concluded). 

Christiania proved altogether delightful, for 
being a very modern city it oppressed us not with a 
multitude of obligatory sights, and we could wander 
and loiter according to our own sweet will. As 
the capital of Norway, with the Parliament 
Houses, King's Palace, Observatory and other 
State and philanthropic structures, it reflects the 
character of the nation and is most interesting. 
The principal street is wide and lined with fine 
warehouses, and the general aspect of place and 
people is wide-awake, energetic and progressive. 
Something of the sturdy, strong, exhilarating at- 
mosphere is duplicated in the activity and push 
everywhere visible. Our first impression gained 
in the long drive from the Station to the Grand 
Hotel was most favorable, while the outlook from 
our windows over Parliament House and Palace 
and pretty pleasure-ground, and over and way be- 
yond the opposite buildings upon the beautiful and 
spacious fjord and its picturesque islands, was 
charming. Perhaps the most interesting ancient 
building is the Gamle Akers Kirke, dating previous 
to 1150, and beautifully restored in 1861. A huge 
square tower with pointed spire rises at inter- 

15 



16 NORWAY. 

section of nave and transept. The interior is most 
peculiar in that it is so smelly yet has nave and 
aisles separated by round or Roman columns large 
enough for a cathedral. The tower also is un- 
common, the walls being solid with only arched 
doorways opening into nave and aisles and chancel. 
A puljDit and stairs profusely embellished with high 
relief wood-carving in floriated design, some quaint 
old chairs, the portrait of a minister with gown 
and ruff, and some brass chandeliers, added to the 
quaint effect. A provoking custom is the opening 
of the sights only from eleven o^ clock until two 
o^ clock, for, as they are widely scattered, one ac- 
complishes little in a day. At the museum we 
found a small but choice collection of china, Nor- 
wegian embroidery, brass, silver and bronze articles 
and old wood-carving and furniture. Several ex- 
hibits were closed, but we saw the Viking Ship, 
which is considered ^^ the most interesting archaeo- 
logical discovery of the age."^ It was from sixty 
to seventy-five feet long and twenty or more wide, 
and was much shattered. In the centre was a tent 
of logs and near by the great cumbersome oars. 
It was excavated from a burial mound in the vicin- 
ity and is well shapen. A little gallery around 
the building overlooks it. A charming spot is St. 
Hanshaugen, or St. Johns's Hill, just out of the 
town, which is crowned by a reservoir and tower 
in connection with the water system. The sloping 
hillsides in every direction are laid out as a park 
with drives, shady walks, seats, flower borders and 
verdant lawns. From a picturesque Norwegian 






NORTHWARD HO I 17 

chalet, and a walk around the reservoir at summit, 
a most lovely view is obtained, for beneath is the 
fresh and pretty town, beyond ; the peaceful lake- 
like expanse of the fjord dotted with numerous 
rocky islands, and in the distance ranges of gentle, 
low-lying hills. 

One brilliant morning we drove through the 
new part of the town, and for almost an hour 
past pretty villas and grounds until we came to 
Oscar's-hall, a small pretty Gothic chateau perched 
upon an eminence overlooking the fjord, built 
by Charles XV., but now government property 
and a sort of museum, with royal mementoes 
such as coronation robes, etc., and pictures of 
Norwegian scenery. The view from its roof is one 
of rare and peaceful beauty. For almost two- 
thirds of the way around it, spreads the tranquil 
sunny waters of the great fjord. Across a branch 
of it lies Christiania, almost buried in verdure. 
Upon numerous points that jut out into the fjord 
are tasteful and jaunty little summer cottages, and 
in the trees on every hillside far and near glitter 
the gables or roofs of tasteful villas, while in the 
rear against the horizon rises with varied outline 
a succession of hills. Driving through the quiet 
park, we came to a tall, fanciful Norwegian gate- 
way, through which we passed on foot, and in a 
few moments came to a most interesting group of 
ancient buildings removed from other parts of the 
country and placed here for preservation, as these 
structures are fast disappearing. In the centre 
stood a most curious and picturesque pile, the old 

2 



18 NORWAY. 

chiircli of Gol in the Hallingdal, dating from the 
twelfth or thirteenth century. The interior is the 
original work, but much of the exterior is a resto- 
ration. It was almost pyramidal in form, pagoda- 
like, showing three rows of pitched shingled roof. 
The interior was curious, with a suggestion of tri- 
forium and clerestory, an apse and altar decorated 
with rude jDictures. Near by is an old farm-house 
from Telemarken, with interior bright with copper, 
brass and pewter plaques and vessels, old crockery 
and queer old furniture ornamented with texts and 
mottoes. There is also a storehouse, beautiful in 
shape and prettily adorned with carvings of ex- 
ceedingly tasteful and graceful designs, and a living 
house without windows (but a hole in peak of roof 
for escape of smoke), which was filled with odd 
furniture and utensils. But nothing was sq enjoy- 
able as a three-hours^ boat-ride upon the fjord. It 
was the beginning of our tour and we felt nothing 
could surpass it in beauty. It was so dreamy 
and romantic to pass along the prettily wooded 
and indented shore, into deep bays, between and 
past tiny islands, all heavily wooded with evergreen, 
birch and poplar, with here and there a pretty 
cottage or pretentious villa ; in the trees constantly 
peeping out, pretty gables and balconies, and with 
an outlook and distant view changing with every 
movement. Sometimes the cottages made a gala- 
day effect, again the densely wooded evergreen 
shores seemed as still and lonely as if a thousand 
miles from the abode of man, and all the while 
spread out the beautiful blue waters and the 






NORTHWARD HO ! 19 

lovely mirage. The shores are low, but the hori- 
zon hills look higher from the water, and while 
the numerous bays are small, the eyes sweep at 
times over long waste of waters like an inland 
sea. 

We left at two p. m. for a seventeen hour jour- 
ney by rail to Trondhjem. For hours we passed 
over a prim country with nothing characteristic 
or striking save its continuous and extremely 
peaceful prettiness. The dark green of balsams 
contrasted finely in the mass with the vivid tender 
green of pasture-land, and often in the distance 
were blue and purple mountains. About four 
o'clock we reached Eidsvold, which is close to the 
little river Vormen, where a steamer connected 
with our train for some pleasure resort. It was a 
lovely rural scene as for a half hour we followed 
its line and border until its meeting with Lake 
Mjosen, the largest lake in Norway (sixty-two 
miles long by nine and one-half wide). The view 
along the sunlit lake, with great slumberous mount- 
ains on either side, was exquisite. It was so soli- 
tary, for not a vessel or sail broke or rippled the 
smooth waters that shimmered so beautifully in 
the sunshine with the air of a perpetual Sabbath. 
At five o'clock we reached Hamar, where a change 
was made to a narrow gauge road, with car seats 
which later were made into fairly comfortable 
lounges for the night. Frequent stops at highland 
stations with tidy lunch-stands, gave us the re- 
freshment of the balsamic air. We seemed to pass 
through an endless stretch of aspens and ever- 



20 NORWAY. 

greens. For miles there would be no novel or 
foreign features^ save the peculiar way of stacking 
hay in long fence-like strips^ or ridges. Late at 
night we passed through woods of balsams, with 
ground so covered with whitish moss as to seem in 
the twilight, like snow. It was weird and solitary. 
The white clouds stalked in the valley beneath, 
like phantoms. The evergreens rose like countless 
monoliths. A gentleman, who watched the way 
all night, said the beauty of it never wavered. 
About seven o^clock in the morning we began to 
catch glimpses of the approach to Trondhjem, 
with here and there the waters of falls, rivers and 
fjords, and beyond, ranges of blue mountains. 
This northernmost capital, the crowning place for 
centuries of the Norwegian kings, is most beauti- 
fully situated at a river's mouth and by the Trond- 
hjem Fjord, with an undulating environment of 
wonderful verdure, considering it is parallel with 
the south coast of Iceland. Its principal object 
of interest is the cathedral, now being finely re- 
stored. For a century and a half a structure of 
this character has occupied the same site, although 
destruction by fire has occurred five or six times. 
Although Christiania is the capital, every king 
and queen must, by law, be crowned here. The 
restorations are upon an extensive scale, making 
practically a new structure. The Choir is finished 
and is in pointed Gothic of soft, slate- colored stone 
with slender columns of white marble. Harmo- 
nious tinted windows enrich the general effect. 
The work on transepts and tower is progressing^ 



NORTHWARD HO ! 21 

but the nave is cliaos itself with steam apparatus 
for cutting and hoisting stone. In time it will be 
magnificent and by far the grandest ecclesiastical 
edifice in Scandinavia. 

The town having been several times devastated 
by fire, the streets in rebuilding have been made 
very wide for safety. With the log houses mostly 
two stories in height, covered with siding and 
almost every one of the large shutterless windows 
filled with flowers, the vistas are extremely cheer- 
ful and pretty. Just outside of the town, crown- 
ing a height of two hundred and thirty-five feet, is 
Christiansen, an old fortress, built in the seven- 
teenth century, now dismantled, although a sen- 
tinel paced to and fro upon the grass-covered 
ramparts. The view of the fjord, the mountains, 
a little island fort formerly a monastery, and the 
town, is extremely pleasing. 

A pleasant drive of three-quarters of an hour 
through a diversified and undulating country, with 
exquisite views of the mountains, brought us to 
the Lille-Lerfos, a mad cascade which, bending 
through a narrow gorge or valley, and descending 
some eighty feet plunges over huge boulders and 
rocks with terrific velocity. The tumultuous 
waters rear and plunge, a mass of whitened foam, 
and pass a row of ruined mills, most pitiful, but 
most picturesque, to behold — recalling vividly the 
hackneyed words of the poet, 

** Men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever." 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 

THE KORTH CAPE. 
I. 

The wind, cold and cheerless, blowing furious- 
ly, — the sky everywhere obscured by great heavy 
lowering bands of leaden clouds ; — in the east a 
break in the gloomy expanse revealing the ever- 
lasting daylight beyond ; — such was the ominous 
outlook as we slowly worked our way out from the 
protected harbor of Trondhjem, into the black 
waters of the broad fjord at ten o"* clock in the 
evening of July 20th on our way to the North 
Cape ! Such departure upon a trip to which clear 
weather can alone give the coveted sight of the 
Midnight Sun and the comfort of surroundings so 
indispensable to full enjoyment of the peculiar 
scenery of the ISTorwegian coast, would have been 
discouraging and depressing, had not the weather 
for a week past, been so fickle and contradictory. 
Even this last day commenced ■ with a hopeless 
dress of heavily laden clouds that looked the 
commencement of a prolonged storm. Yet by 
noon the sky was blue and well-nigh cloudless, and 
the atmosphere warm and delightful, apparently 
the beginning of settled weather. But in the 
evening it clouded up again. The first ten or 
twelve hours is said to possess but little interest. 

22 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 23 

We sat for an hour in a sheltered place and watched 
the tempestuous sea and the wild rock-bound 
coast, darkened our windows to shut the dayliglit 
out at eleven p. m. — and so ended the first of the 
eight eventful days. With droll consideration we 
were informed that in the early morning we would 
be exposed to the swell of the sea, and happy were 
they who believing, remained below. But by nine 
A. M., we were under the protection or within the 
broken barrier of islands and rocks and all was 
serene and lovely. Some years ago an employe at 
the charming Luray Inn, Virginia, was asked if 
there was a comfortable hotel farther down the 
road at Eoanoke. " Oh, yes,^^ he replied, " one 
of the Company^s and like this ; " adding with 
the supremo contempt and supercilious patronage 
of a rival, " but there is nothing there but scenery I " 
Very truthfully could this rather crude remark be 
applied to this trip in search of the Midnight Sun, 
especially when clouds and mists persistently veil 
and hide the glorious orb, at the critical moments. 
The coast of Korway is unique, — a sort of Thousand 
Islands stretched along a good thousand miles or 
more, but with the added charm of bold and varied 
mountain scenery such as one scarcely expects to 
find outside of peerless little Switzerland. The 
guide-book, glibly records that ^^ the coast is 
protected by a natural barrier, a/r^?^^e of islands." 
It is however, a rather uneven and irregular 
fringe, the kind which in dress materials would be 
quickly relegated to needy friends or cheerfully 
sent to church for missionary boxes ! A cruise 



24 NORWAY. 

along the rugged and varied coast impresses one, as 
the days go by, with the fact that Norway must 
have been around when mountains, rocky islands, 
tiny islets and endless waters were given out. 
From the immense variety of forms and the 
tumbled irregular appearance, it looks as if she 
must have accepted a ^'^job lot" and has never 
been really able to assort or put them in order ! 
Mountain scenery is much the same the world 
over, the preponderance of certain forms and 
outlines alone giving a local character. But 
along this sea-caressed, storm-swept coastline, 
literally every form is seen, — the great rounded 
mound with its long gracefully sloping sides, — the 
tent like contour, — the lofty Gothic pinnacles, — 
the lance-like Aiguilles, — the stately castellated 
forms and the billowy rounding range, so full of 
life and motion. The islands are numberless and 
vary in size from a few feet to miles. The skies 
grew fairer, the clouds more luminous, and yet all 
day the heavy rainfalls were somewhere visible in 
the distance. We knew this day would reveal 
none of the greater wonders of the trip, but there 
was so much that was novel and enchanting we 
were in perpetual delight. We sat by the hour in 
the bow of the vessel and just loohed I Islands 
there were to the right of us, islands to the left, 
and along the horizon a tumbled mass of purple, 
violet, amethyst, and blue, mingled with gold, 
gray- and bronze-green, — the endless line of 
low-lying mountains in the suppressed light. At 
times a bold headland, oftener a ragged, tumul- 



THK PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 25 

tuous outline of low mountains, bare of trees, 
save a few stunted shrubs at base, but with green 
of moss-like turf in patches to their very summits. 
But oh ! the glory and beauty, the mystery and 
impressiveness of the bold yet soft gradation of 
color in those heavy, cloud-like banks, with which 
we were encompassed all the day long ! Sometimes 
a foreground of dull gray rocks, and through an 
opening in an apparently land-locked bay, great 
boulders glittering and flashing in the sunlight. 
Again, great deep purple mountains like sentinels, 
and seen between them in the beyond, a low mass 
of sapphire blue. Once in a great while a little 
house would be seen. It was impossible, though, 
to shake off the sense of extreme solitude and lone- 
liness, the consciousness that these great mount- 
ain piles and rocky masses lie here ahuays, year 
after year, basking in the sunlight, enveloped in 
mists and wreathed in storm clouds, while the 
crowd of tourists just come and go. Delighted as 
we were, it struck ns as a little comical to see a 
young Englishman in full regulation tourist dress, 
knickerbockers, large plaid stockings and all, 
perched in the best place in the bow, but never 
for an hour lifting his eyes from a French paper- 
covered novel ! Hour after hour, like shifting 
scenes upon a stage with kaleidoscopic change and 
panoramic variety, the rocky shores, islands and 
strange groupings of the mountains in many a 
little inlet passed rapidly before us. Every mo- 
ment was so full ! Before you can really grasp 
exquisite outline or glowing color the ceaseless 



26 _ NORWAY. 

movement and changing positions of the vessel 
opens something else equally novel or breathless, 
the gray rocks close in, a narrow gateway discloses 
a vista of bold jagged heights, with soft storm 
wreaths, mysterious and strange, and looking 
backward behold ! as far as eye can reach, a new 
paradise of island after island, mountain beyond 
mountain, permeated with the wondrous blue and 
amethystine tints. In minor fjords the waters, 
mirror-like, reflected the great rocks and hills, 
while all around us the waves were touched with 
white caps. How marvellous it all seemed, seen 
from the deck of a steamer ! While a part would 
be all glowing wi fch color or sunshine, of the mount- 
ain tops here and there it could be said, " Clouds 
and darkness are around about them." Anon, we 
came into a broad, lake-like expanse of perfectly 
smooth waters, with enchanting distant adaman- 
tine walls dyed with blue of sapphire and purple 
of amethyst. Lifting the eyes in opposite direc- 
tion, away off against the blue sky and banks of 
pearly clouds, rose most strikingly a mass of brown 
and russet with deep indenture like a gateway to 
the cloud-land beyond. It was novel and strange, 
because seen from such standpoint, and enchant- 
ing, because never had we seen such wealth, deli- 
cacy and exuberance of exquisite color. For a 
while our attention was riveted upon a curious 
and most picturesque mountain pile, in form strik- 
ingly like a huge, high-crown, wide-brimmed hat, 
floating upon the surface of the deep. This re- 
semblance has given it the name of " Torghattan," 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 27 

or market hat. As we neared it, the steamer an- 
chored in a little cove, the boats were lowered and 
all who wished went ashore for two hours. Few 
were left behind, for through this monumental 
mountain there is a wonderful natural tunnel. 
Seen from a distance the effect is most peculiar? 
for half-way up the dark frowning face, apj^ears 
an aperture, through which is discerned the blue 
sky and warm sunshine beyond. It Avas quite a 
walk and climb to the base of the pyramid or 
cone, through the very heart of which, pierced by 
some unknown power, is the opening, said to be 
two hundred and three feet in centre and two hun- 
dred and forty-six feet at one end in height, with 
a width of perhaps thirty or forty feet. The sides 
are almost perpendicular, the roof hangs in jagged 
broken outlines and the way is clear of debris. Nor 
is there at either end little suggestion of what has 
become of that which has been sculptured out. 
The way up is such a winding one that until 
the opening is reached little idea is gained of the 
surprise awaiting one. In an instant, as one sur- 
mounts the last pile of boulders, through the 
great opening is seen, fitly framed, a picture of 
rare beauty of the smooth sea beyond, at that 
moment silvery and glittering, dotted with numer- 
ous rocky islets. The view from this eleva- 
tion in every direction was enchanting, for it 
swept over a broad expanse of waters, numerous 
picturesque bays running way up into the coast- 
line, countless islands, diversified shore bound- 
ary and a billowy horizon of glorious mountains 



28 NORWAY. 

fairly dissolved in color. Then we took ship- 
ping and sailed o^er silent seas again, and the 
sunshine disappeared. We passed Brono, quite a 
settlement, with a church, telegraph office, etc., and 
then to our keen regret the mist, which resembled 
the rain, degenerated into a drizzle or pour. At 
eight p. M. we passed Sandnasen — ^' good quar- 
ters, ^^ with a church in size strangely out of propor- 
tion to the apparent population. But all of these 
northern stations are identified with the fishing in- 
terests, and at certain times of the year the hardy 
fishermen flock here in thousands. The view of 
the Seven Sisters, a spelling class or procession of 
mountains, is said to be grand from here. Per- 
haps it is ! We saw it not, for the rain clouds en- 
veloped them ! A while earlier, we did see a"" 
beautiful effect in seven long cascades or waterfalls, 
at intervals, dashing down the sides of a long 
mountain range, in a mass of whitened foam. It 
became cold and wet and we would fain have re- 
tired, only at eleven p. m. we were to cross the 
Arctic Circle, the pesky imaginary line which so 
bothered the comprehension of our earlier days, — 
especially as it was so plain upon the maps. For 
an hour or more we lost everything, being en- 
veloped in a light and luminous cloud and down- 
pour. About eleven p. m. we all gathered around 
two small cannons on one side of the vessel. An 
island with apparently a cone-like mound of rock, 
a most peculiar formation, so enveloped in mist we 
could not tell whether it was high or low, appeared 
upon one side of a narrow strait. More rocks rose 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 29 

upon tlie other side. The Circle passes between 
them and when fairly abreast, the genial captain, 
who from first to last was indefatigable in his ef- 
forts to add to the pleasure of the trip, requested a 
young California lady to pull a string, and bang ! 
went the little brass cannon ; then a fair English 
lass drew another and the deafening noise of a 
salute followed ; then all went to opposite side of 
vessel, the Austrians broke out in their national 
hymn Avhile two German frauleins fired the other 
two guns — and we were across the magic line. It 
all seemed so droll, eighty grown-up people stand- 
ing around in the rain while four guns were firing, 
because we Avere passing an imaginary line that no 
one cared a button for ! Beyond this, there is said 
to be some fine scenery, but as the rain soon en- 
tirely obliterated all trace of earth or sky, we re- 
tired, the captain calling out cheerily, " Get all the 
sleep you can, for every night after this, there is 
much to see.^' Hope, as usual, told a fiattering 
tale. And the morning and the evening of our 
second day were ended. 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 

11. 

As the captain^ with almost paternal solicitude, 
had announced the previous evening that in the 
early hours of this our third eventful day, we might 
have it a little rough, we lay quietly in our berths 
until eight o'clock. With fine weather, it is diffi- 
cult to understand just when one would have any 
use for a berth, there is so much to see. We saw 
from our port-hole that the rain had ceased, the 
sky was a soft mass of mother-of-pearl and the 
horizon mountains bright with sunshine, but little 
dreamed of what a varied scene awaited us from 
the deck, stretched out upon the surrounding 
waters. Numerous low rocky islands and minia- 
ture islets seemed floating upon the surface, like 
ice floes, while rising sharply, tumultuously, like 
colossal waves tossed into the air, breaking in a 
sky line of sharp-pointed ragged peaks, tinged 
with soft living and bronze green with here and 
there white patches of snow, were the Lofoden 
Islands. Through the quiet waters the good ship 
ploughed its way, the great wall of rock growing 
taller and taller and more sombre and impressive. 
A cloud suddenly swooped down, eagle-like, and 
wreathed the highest summits with an air of solemn, 

30 






In the Raftsund 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 31 

impenetrable mystery. Seen against the gray, 
luminous sky, the picture or panorama, all through 
the Raftsund, of these wonderful and stupendous 
rocky islands, was grand, sublime and overpower- 
ing. The distant peaks were superb in color, being 
a most peculiar tint of greenish violet, soft and 
luminous. Nature makes up a liberal palette, ere 
this picture is complete. When first we reached 
the shadow of the great rocks, we came to Hen- 
ningsvaer, a very important fishing station, where 
in the season (midwinter) from twenty to thirty 
thousand fishermen are engaged. The little low 
islands were literally peppered with low houses and 
rude huts. The vessel stopped for ten minutes 
and then through the boundless waters continued 
its royal way. Oh ! the solemn loneliness of that 
stretch of waters and those countless bare and 
rugged peaks ! It seemed as if the Alps must be 
afloat I How the expression of it, ^' How wonder- 
ful are Thy works," oppressed mind and soul that 
quiet, ideal Sabbath morning ! The mountain 
forms grew more wild, spectral, and weird. At 
times an outline like a Titanic saw, again great 
mounds of color indescribable, or some deep inlet 
brilliant with ultramarine blue, or some nearer 
mount luminous green with the turf, with lines 
of purple and brown of dampened rocks. Surely, 
the witchery of color never had dramatic dis- 
play excelling this ! Everywhere islands and 
islets, mountain ranges and chains, and strange- 
ly enough with all these heights, no correspond- 
ing or complementing curve or valley depth, but 



33 NORWAY. 

instead, the long soul-quieting lines of water with 
their solemn, grave suggestiveness of the endless- 
ness of eternity ! It was Switzerland submerged, 
but with the life and gladness of the happy- 
valleys replaced by the awful immensity, soli- 
tude and utter separation from human life, of the 
outstretched silent waters. Something perhaps is 
lost of the daring, breathless towering toward the 
heavens, felt in valley depths, by this conscious 
beginning upon a level. But the inseparable mys- 
tery, solemnity, grandeur and sublimity are accent- 
uated, and one feels farther removed from the life 
that now is and closer to the Unseen and nearer to 
the blessed life beyond. We longed for clear blue 
sky and continuous sunshine, yet felt in all prob- 
ability we were having a greater variety of color 
and atmospheric effects. It was transcendently 
beautiful and mysterious ; was like endless worship 
in some grand cathedral, with here and there a 
column in solemn shadow and often a burst of sun- 
light upon occasional blue and purple peaks, like 
the streaming of light through clerestory stained 
and colored glass. Passing through gateways of 
imposing rocks we would come "into a large 
place,^^ and far away against the horizon, would 
see a line of peaks and pinnacles and wave-tossed 
outline, like the views of Alpine ranges from such 
vantage ground as Rigi Kulm. The signs of life 
are few. Here and there detached houses or per- 
chance a hamlet. Flocks of sea-gulls and eider 
duck, and in the open, a finely proportioned English 
steamer. Constantly changing is the Qonfigura- 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 33 

tion of mountain and hill uj^on every side, so that 
the eye wearies, the nerves grow taut with all the 
shifting scene of beauty and the prolonged strain 
of unbroken delight. A most weird and spectral 
scene was a row of square-cut islands like the huge 
abutments or piers of some gigantic bridge, and 
then a sharp, solitary, pyramid as we passed on 
through the azure and the blue. Grand and im- 
pressive as it was, we felt at times we did not gain 
a correct impression of the height of many of the 
peaks, because of the frequent handicapping by 
the clouds. The snow nowhere lies like a mantle 
covering the entire summits, or in great sweej^ing 
draperies down the mountain side, as with the 
Alps or Sierra Nevadas, but in spots and patches 
here and there as in pockets. Sometimes in the 
great crater-like pockets, it lay in magnificent 
and dazzling masses and frequently ponderous 
glowing glaciers seemed creeping slowly down, but 
oftener it was a patch, a blotch of white, upon a 
heraldic field of blue. The cloud effects were 
superb, but inasmuch as we would pass that way 
but once, we would willingly have dispensed with 
some, to have had more of unobstructed vision of 
lofty peak and solemn height. At one time we 
were in a land-locked bay, like a lake, with appar- 
ently no outlet, among the tallest peaks, over 
which hung and broke, Staubback like, a single 
thread of white waters. Such combination of 
beauteous form, variety of outline, sensuousness 
of luminous color is said to be rare, even here. 
Smoothly and silently we turned into the Trold- 
3 



34 NORWAY. 

fjord ; as if by magic the clouds graciously lifted, 
the blue sky appeared, and up and up — thousands 
of feet almost sheer wp — on one side, rose the well- 
nigh bare, bald, mountain heights, with great 
masses of brilliant fire-weed, a few scanty shrubs 
and then nothing but the stupendous bare, gray 
rock surface. This little cove or fjord was by far 
the grandest and most magnificent sight we had. 
In this tiny bay what marvellous grandeur and 
sublimity ! A giant mountain with smooth, slant- 
ing surface of thousands of feet from summit to 
water's edge ; — a cone and pyramid ; — streams of 
whitened foam coming down steep acclivities, and 
one great solitary glacier, made the little enclosure 
seem like a sanctuary, so still and holy ! A single 
white sea-gull hovered above like the Holy Spirit 
brooding over the calm and repose. Oh dear ! 
they dared, in childish craving for amusement, to 
fire several guns while there, for the possible effect 
of wonderful echo and marvellous reverberation, 
when the holy charm of this amazing combination 
was the brooding stillness, the spiritual peaceful- 
ness, that could be felt. A shout in church would 
hardly have sounded more sacrilegious ! We 
passed out, and lo ! in a few moments there was 
no trace of inlet or wondrous silent fjord ! Like 
a revelation it opened, — ^like an apparition it dis- 
appeared ! So come, — alas ! so go, some of the 
deepest and sweetest experiences of our spiritual 
and inner life. The scene grew more rugged and 
wild, the peaks sharper, and the glorious sun ap- 
pearing, transfigured it all. Fifteen minutes later 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 35 

we wondered if mountains, clouds, sky and water, 
could do more ! One great clustered mass of pur- 
ple mountains, was covered with a strange lumi- 
nous cloud. The light beyond seemed to break 
through in long, glorious slants down* their sides. 
A mysterious and exj^ectant air, made it seem as if 
Moses had again gone up into the mount. An- 
other peerless group of sharp-pointed and jagged 
peaks, with great, deep pockets filled with snow, 
stood out grand and sublime in the clear atmos- 
phere. Far away, beyond a chain of low islets, 
a range of vivid blue mountains was broken in one 
place by an abrupt oblong mass like a stupendous 
square fortress with huge towers at the corners, all 
flashing in the sunshine. In another direction a 
solid blue, sombre mass, with broken outline of 
strange, weird shapes, was, in some places, mono- 
lithic in form and character. There is little use 
in trying to portray these details, save that they 
give some faint idea of the rapidly dissolving 
kaleidoscopic effects, gone and replaced almost 
momentarily. 

Later we stop^^ed at a small village to allow a 
funny little German baron to land, with his 
seventeen pieces of luggage, his object beiiig to 
ascend a mountain in sight crowned with a little 
hut, because, as he said, '^ the Emperor had done 
so ! " At seven-thirty p. m. we moored in the 
harbor of Ilarstad, called oneof the most beautiful 
places on the coast. It seemed as if tlie whole 
population, dressed in their Sunday best, were 
upon the wharf, A long row of carioles and 



36 NORWAY. 

saddle horses were waiting to take visitors to one 
of the oldest churches in JSTorway, a mile or two 
away. We went ashore and strolled a ways above 
the town. A beautiful scene lay unfolded before 
us, for we seemed to be overlooking an Alpine 
lake with the mountains at one end well covered 
with snow. The little town had a thrifty look, 
and as we passed one house, the sound of a 
melodeon was heard. After all, we did not seem 
so far away. At eleven p. m. we were off again, 
our departure being timed so as to reach a place 
a little way beyond, where we would have the 
first chance of seeing the Midnight Sun. It was 
the more exciting because, although the wind blew 
bleak and cold, the clouds seemed about to lift. In 
the west the golden suffusing light made a hope- 
ful contrast with the rest of the beclouded sky. 
Time wore on ; we came in sight of apparently 
a bouquet or group of peaks with summits so 
beclouded that no idea of height or conformation, 
save at the base, could be formed. Beyond lay a 
long stretch of low, almost flat, mountains. A little 
way above the horizon the edge of a flaky, pearly 
mass of cloud was as sharply and distinctly drawn 
as the edge or border of a stage curtain. Along 
the horizon a bank of scattering clouds and 
between, lovely reflected golden light. It seemed 
as if the bell had rung for the curtain to go up, — 
and it had caught ! Whether the sun was in the 
bank below or behind the curtain-like cloud we 
knew not. Oh ! with what tension of nerve, with 
what longing gaze we watched the scene ! At 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 37 

twelve o'clock a gun was fired, but there was no 
Midnight Sun for us ! While it was marvellous at 
midnight to see the western sky all glorious as at 
many a sunset hour in our own land, it was not 
exactly that which we '^came out for to see," and 
a little chagrined we acceded willingly to the cap- 
tain's suggestion, — " Go to bed and if the sun 
appears we will fire a gun." Alas ! no report 
sounded upon the air as the night wore on ! It 
was disappointing, but it could neither obliterate 
nor dim the glowing memory of the glorious Sab- 
bath day, so satisfyingly full of the wondrous 
revelation of creative skill, so permeated with the 
soft radiancy of heavenly tint and hue of delicacy 
and beauty unspeakable. 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 

III. 

At an early hour on Monday we arrived at 
Tromso, which, situated upon a little bay, makes a 
fine appearance from the water, with its warehouses 
and wharves, the buildings of the town, and upon 
wood-covered hills beyond, many a little white 
villa. After breakfast we were all rowed to a 
small landing opposite, where little carioles were 
waiting to drive to a picturesque valley where was 
a so-called settlement of Lapps. It was a slioiu 
place with probably most of the characteristics of a 
genuine settlement, dirt and all ! Four or five 
huts made of poles or logs set up on end and 
gathered to a centre and covered with earth, etc., 
and perhaps fifty men, women and children ; a lot 
of beautiful dogs, and better than all, a herd of 
reindeer, were the attractions. The men and 
women were very diminutive, with faded yellow 
hair and leather-like skins, and were so non- 
descriptly attired and enveloped that they appeared 
much like picturesque bundles of old clothes, 
skins and leather. The garments of skin with fur 
turned inside, looked, if the truth is to be told, as 
if never cleaned and rarely removed. A few 
minutes within the huts so satisfied curiosity 

38 



NORWAY. 39 

and healthful, sight-seeing interest, that we did 
not care even to inquire the price of rooms for the 
season. The reindeer were very interesting, much 
like deer, only that their antlers were completely 
covered as with a soft and velvety fur. It all 
hoAvever, reminded us of the so-called Indian 
encampments often seen near our popular resorts. 
The life within the huts was pitiful. A hole in 
the middle of the roof gives the only light or 
chance for escape of the smoke of the fire in centre 
of room, around which they live and sleep in very 
primitive fashion. The babies have the drollest 
of droll little cradles. It was not a cheerful place 
or inspiriting picture of life, yet they all seemed 
contented and happy. 

Many walked the whole way for a change, but 
in our two-wheeled gig, with a little imp of a 
horse, and a boy standing up behind driving, 
Jehu-like, we felt, as we jolted and pitched over 
the rather primitive road, first to one side and 
then to the other, with a delightful suggestion 
of an upset at any moment, that we had quite as 
much exercise as the best of them. Keturning to 
the little wharf we were rowed over to the town, 
where we strolled around for awhile, visiting the 
little shops with many a choice bit of old silver 
and quaint tankards and spoons. There was a 
general appearance of cleanliness and tidiness, but 
a very fishy odor in the vicinity of the wharves. 
Almost every window (and never were there more 
windows in a given space) was prettily draped 
with Nottingham lace or muslin curtains and 



40 NORWAY. 

profusely filled with pots of blooming flowers. An 
hour or two before we left, the excursion steamer 
" Augusta Victoria," arrived from the North Cape, 
and reported the weather so unfavorable, that no 
sight of the Midnight Sun had been enjoyed. 
Our hearts sank within us, as we wondered if a 
similar experience awaited us. (They touched the 
hottom later !) As we steamed away from Tromso 
about two p. M. bang ! bang ! bang ! went the 
exchanging salutes, and the colors were dipped 
while from our ship floated the Norwegian, 
Swedish, Austrian, French, German, English and 
American flags. The scenery soon became mag- 
nificent, but alas ! for awhile, we were exposed to 
the roll and swell of the sea and the wind became 
too piercingly cold and keen, to allow of prolonged 
sitting upon the deck. All this while we were 
passing at most aggravating disadvantage, combina- 
tions of mountain and sea, solemn and grand ! Late 
in the afternoon, unable to stand any longer the 
letting of all this grandeur pass unnoticed, we 
bundled up and went out, with teeth chattering 
and forms shivering, and viewed the prospect o^'er. 
There was no going in after that ! Cold or not, 
we could not afford to lose or ignore such inspiring 
and enchanting effects of stupendous form and 
bewitching color. The temperature was more 
suggestive of November or December than July. 
How we wished the clouds that handicapped two 
thirds of the summits and ranges would lift ! 
The atmospheric effects were peculiar and be- 
witching ; it was like some great spectacular 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 41 

display. The gray, cold clouds hung heavily ; 
an occasional rift revealing their thinness as well 
as the blue sky beyond. Once, sweeping the 
horizon we looked upon tent-like mountains, then 
upon the open sea with one stupendous, tumbled 
island mass of rugged mountains, while along the 
nearer shore almost purple to blackness, rose 
sombre, mysterious, solemn and awful, a bold, lofty 
jagged range, standing out grand and impressive 
against an angry sky with a wild, fearful "^Dies 
Irae^^ expression. In its impressive, awful elfect 
we seemed to hear again the weird song of the 
Hampton singers, " my Lord ! what mourning, 
what mourning w^hen the stars begin to fall.^^ 
The utter loneliness and solitariness of this envi- 
ronment of sombre sea and solemn heights cannot 
be imagined or pictured. Yet in startling and 
beautiful contrast, way off in another direction in 
a deep islet or bay, the sun was shining gloriously 
and the mountain-side seemed laughing with glad- 
ness. Passing over those black waters, among 
those sombre mountains, flecked here and there 
with snow, we seemed in another sphere than 
ours. Closer and closer we came to a river-like 
fjord until fairly in the shadow and at the very 
base of an unusually lofty range. Protected by 
this barrier the wind touched us not and seemed 
to have died away. From smooth, quiet waters 
sprang abruptly and with one glorious bound a 
range of mountains from five to six thousand feet 
in height. AV"e were in the Lyngen-f jord, one of 
the finest along the entire coast, and a lovely scene 



42 NORWAY. 

it was, like a great inland sea with lonely mount- 
ains guarding its every side. The steamer slowed 
up and we just floated along the base of the mighty 
heights. 'No words can convey a truthful idea of 
the wonderful succession of strange riftings and 
breakings in this wall of stone. It seemed a solid 
continuous mass, then suddenly a break would 
occur and high up on the mountain-side would lie 
an extensive glacier, rifted and seamed in great 
crevasses and cavities, showing a most exquisite and 
peculiar blue. From it would pour, over boulders 
and a rocky bed, a white stream, which a Swiss 
lady facetiously remarked was '^the outcome of 
the glacier^s melting mood.^' We little dreamed 
of that which was in store. It was indeed, as 
the song says, ^^ Better on before," for we passed 
break after break, with glacier after glacier, and 
many a white, rushing, foaming stream coming 
down the mountaintside. Some of the glaciers, 
with thrilling effect, seemed to emerge or be a 
portion of the great overhanging clouds, while 
others lay in great, solid, aqua-marine, blue-fretted 
masses. One break may reveal mountain-tops like 
castellated battlements lost in clouds ; another, a 
group of pinnacles like a Gothic spire, with count- 
less sea-gulls fluttering to and fro against this 
architectural background of gray and barren 
rocks. Lost as many of the pinnacles were in 
clouds, they seemed those of a temple not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens. Another 
showed in the centre a great cone-like mountain, 
with a blue, shattered glacier flowing around it. 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 43 

and hanging as it were upon either side, Hke a 
necklace or scarf. The last and greatest of all 
lay high up on the mountain, as upon a shelf, 
while the floating along so imperceptibly, made 
it seem like a continuous panorama or picture 
passing before us. It suggested the Bay of Uri, 
the best part of Lake Lucerne, in its breathless 
grandeur. There was no nonsense of '^foot- 
hills ; " the great mountains sprang breathlessly, 
Avith one lordly bound, u]3 and up to the very 
sky, overpowering with a sense of deepest solem- 
nity and awful solitude. It Avas delightful to be 
in the shadow of the great rock, with neither 
wind nor cold to make us afraid. Like all good 
things it came to an end ! AYe reached the end 
of the fjord ; the steamer turned ; the inevitable 
gun was fired, that the children of a larger 
growth might hear the lovely echoes, and then 
we passed out into the winding expanse again. 
The evening sky grew more clear, the clouds 
parted and we watched, hour after hour, as they 
who watch for the morning. But, — we did not 
see the sun ! As on the previous night, it was 
somewhere there, and in larger degree and fuller 
promise. We would have called it at home a 
glorious and gorgeous sunset, with a wealth of 
golden clouds and changing colors. At midnight 
delicate rosy clouds hung over our only piece of 
blue, but the sun was invisible. It was strange, 
weird and uncanny, all this gloAving light and 
gorgeous color at midnight. Perhaps the sun, 
behind the clouds, went down, at any rate we did. 



44 NORWAY. 

at twelve-thirty, disappointed and worn, although 
even then the glory and radiancy as of another 
world than ours illumined our only bit of clear 
blue sky. 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 

« 

IV. 

At an early hour the following morning we were 
awakened by the dropping of the anchors in the 
harbor of Hammerfest, '^ the northernmost town 
in the world." It is beautifully situated in a little 
cove sheltered by perfectly bare but not particu- 
larly lofty mountains and commands a magnifi- 
cent outlook, for away out in the waters stands 
alone a massive, moss-covered mountain and farther 
on appear waving, ragged walls against the sky. 
The water was as smooth as a mirror and the 
clouds and mountains were reflected again and 
again, while the sunshine was glorious. But we 
could not but remember this condition or mood is 
considered ominous and indicative of a change, 
upon our inland lakes. Alas ! we had become too 
critical and nervous about the weather for actual 
comfort. The town is a busy little place, with 
some very creditable dwellings, several warehouses 
and everywhere a very fishy odor. To one side of 
the bay or harbor upon a promontory stands a low 
granite column surmounted by a ball, called the 
'^ Meridianstette," which commemorates certain 
measurements '^ of the number of degrees between 
Ismail, near the mouth of the Danube and this 

point " made between 1816 and 1852 '' by the geom- 

45 



46 NORWAY. 

eters of three nations by order of King Oscar I., 
and the Emjoerors Alexander I. and Nicholas." At 
ten o^clock we were sailing over the quiet waters 
again, and about one o^clock anchored in a shel- 
tered bay close to a vile-smelling Avhaling station 
with works for trying out oil and fat. Beside the 
wharf, lay in the water the carcass of a huge 
whale which could easily have swallowed Jonah ; 
along the shore were piles of bleached bones, and 
while we were waiting a steam tug came in, towing 
a captured whale. Two or three houses and the 
works were all there was to be seen, but across the 
bay, away from the nauseating stench, were the 
houses of the officials in charge. Almost everyone 
went ashore but returned with handkerchiefs tied 
oyer their nostrils, declaring they had '' seen 
everything disgusting.''^ Meanwhile the sky 
cleared, the sun came out warm and bright, and the 
day was absolutely perfect, and of course we forgot 
the disappointments of the trip and our hopes 
went up and up and our anticipations brightened. 
Alas ! what a change a few short hours can bring ! 
As we again moved onward the captain an- 
nounced there would be fifteen minutes of rough 
water — but who cared when the prospect was so 
cheering ! But the wind (it seemed to have a 
grudge against us) blew up '' big guns," the 
clouds appeared as by magic and closed in about us, 
and very soon it poured I It became too bitter cold 
to remain out, and the motion within the cabin 
was disturbing. It was difficult to be uncom- 
plaining and patient under the circumstances, and 



North Cape 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 47 

it looked very much as if discontent and dissatis- 
faction were pretty equally distributed among the 
company. About five o'clock we came close under, 
in all the pouring rain, the lofty precipitous cliffs 
of four pointed rocky islands, with strange rows of 
white dots upon every ledge and excrescence. 
The steamer stopped ; — a gun was fired and 
presto ! From ledge and cliff disappeared the 
pearl-like spots and instantly the air was full, as 
with snowflakes, of numberless white gulls and 
birds. It was the '' Stappene,^' — the bird islands. 
Oh ! if it had not rained and blown so cold and 
chill ! for it would have been exquisitely beautiful 
in the sunshine. The poor creatures were frantic 
as gun after gun was fired, but as no effort was 
made to kill or harm them we did not feel they 
were being butchered, but only frightened to make 
our holiday. It was a most strange and peculiar 
scene, for there were apparently thousands of them, 
and as they alighted many a straight ledge looked 
like a mantel or shelf with a row of white bric-a- 
brac, in shoppy parlance, ^^no two alike." Later 
it became more rough and cold and the wind 
and rain had it all their own way and played sad 
havoc with our remnant of hope and anticipa- 
tion. At nine o^clock we came into a little bay. 
Great walls of precipitous mountains rose upon 
either side, and between them a steep green 
slope with a line of zigzag walk to its summit. 
The anchor with tremendous rumbling fell ! We 
were at the North Cape — with rain and clouds 
obscuring the heavens I A more hopeless or 



48 NORWAY. 

depressing prospect could not be imagined. The 
captain made rather a melancholy little speech at 
the supper table, referring to the general disap- 
pointment, and saying the small boats would go to 
and fro, and advising all to go ashore and pluck a 
few flowers and so be able to say they had at least 
been upon the North Cape. But after supper the 
clouds parted and so rolled away that the brilliant 
sunshine seemed to bid fair to bathe the whole 
scene. Instantaneously our battered hopes took 
fresh heart of grace ! Notice was given that at 
eleven-thirty o^ clock, if there was a favorable chance 
of seeing the Midnight Sun, the steamer would 
pass out " into the open.^^ Meanwhile those who 
wished could ascend the mountain. Full of ex- 
pectation that the clouds would entirely vanish, we 
began the ascent. We had not come all that dis- 
tance to give up at the end. The path proved a 
succession of steep zigzags, with, more than one half 
of the way, iron posts upon the outer side with 
stout rope to cling to. Owing to the soil being 
saturated and slippery, three-quarters of an hour 
of tugging and puffing were involved ere we 
reached the topmost ridge, which from below 
seemed the summit and looking-off place. But 
there opened before us an immense table-land, at 
first slightly undulating, devoid of tree and shrub, 
and bare of growth of any kind, and without even 
jutting rocks or boulders, — a sweep of desolation 
and utter solitude under the gray sky most im- 
pressive and grand. A good fifteen minutes walk 
across this weird, lonely country, brought us to 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 49 

the " jumi3ing-off place/^ "We saw at a glance that 
there was not the slightest prospect of seeing in its 
glory the Midnight Sun. Angry rain clouds were 
sweeping past, sometimes nearly enveloping us. 
The wind was cold and bleak, but overhead the 
sky was blue, and the edges of the clouds glori- 
fied by golden sunlight. An elaborate octagonal 
pavilion of wood afforded protection until rested, 
while the merry Teutons made havoc with sundry 
bottles of champagne. We strolled away from the 
noisy and hilarious crowd to the edge of the cliff. 
Oh ! for words to describe that outlook ! Com- 
pared with it, a clear sky with the Midnight Sun 
would have been tame ! Yet that was what we 
went for, and what we desired, and the utter dis- 
appointment was saddening and depressing. Yet 
we would not have lost the unearthly spectacle, 
and were well repaid for the fatigue of the weari- 
some climb. Far beneath us, a thousand feet or 
more, spread the apparently smooth and trackless 
waters. Across them, a shimmering bar of silvery 
light as though angels might have passed that 
way. Against the horizon lay a hopeless, solid 
line of deep mellow gray cloud ; above it, broken 
masses in all the soft bewitching variations of 
mother-of-pearl, or the inside of delicate sea-shell, 
and higher a silvery blue sky with the edges of the 
clouds breaking against it, tinged with golden and 
roseate hues. Between us and the far-off, stalked 
a procession of ghost or phantom-like cloud-forms, 
changing almost with every moment. Oh ! won- 
drous combmation, harmony aud symphony ia 



50 NORWAY. 

pearl and gray and white ! It was Nature in the 
most sublime, holy and spiritual mood we had 
ever witnessed. The desolate plain upon whose 
cliff-rim we stood seemed like holy ground, while 
the silvery waters and the clouds which, like a mul- 
titude of witnesses, encompassed us about, brought 
eternity in its endlessness and fulness very vividly 
to mind and heart. Was it strange that, standing 
in the presence of this weird, unearthly scene, with 
the processional clouds passing silently before us, 
memory marshalled the white-robed throng, and 
that mind and heart were busy with thoughts 
of them that have passed within the veil, have 
entered the spirit-land, but whom we still fond- 
ly call our own, or that we said softly to our- 
selves : 

" We in the shadows waiting stand, 
But ye, have entered there." 

The other world, which " lies about us like a 
cloud,^^ seemed very near, in such a pearly scene 
as this, and we thought of Moses alone with God. 
The long straight lines of water and horizon, al- 
ways so soothing and quieting, the solemn stalk- 
ing of the phantom forms and the utter solitude 
were like another world. To have rested 
there two or three hours alone, without the cold 
wind, would have been like unto going up into 
the Mount and abiding with the Unseen. 
Yet is not God everywhere ? Is not the King- 
dom luithmf The noise and hilarity of the 
champagne-loving Germans seemed like sacrilege, 
4 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 51 

like levity, in the presence of prayer. Yet we re- 
membered their ways were not our ways and that 
they doubtless thought little of the disappointment 
because they really cared less for the fullilment. 
Never can we forget the solemn stillness, the utter 
separation from the things of time and sense ex- 
perienced upon that Pisgah height. AYe wondered 
if it was not similar to the awful stillness of the 
higher fastnesses of the Alps. But this was pe- 
culiar, in that the only elements were water and 
cloud. After waiting until twelve-thirty o^clock, 
hoping by some magic, yes. Divine power, a rift 
would come and we see the sun in all his glory, 
we turned away. But it came not ! High in the 
heavens was the warm, serene blue ; the edge of 
clouds was touched with its golden light, while, in 
an opposite direction, in the shatterings of cloud 
banks were the soft tints of pink and rose. It was 
as light as day, the dial of the watch alone prov- 
ing that it was a half hour after midnight. As 
we turned for our return walk across the plateau, 
all along the path in the distance were figures 
slowly plodding their way, suggesting many a pict- 
ure of Holy Land. Just as we reached the descent 
the gathering mist became rain, making the steep 
walk down simply frightful, for the earth, soft at 
best, had become a pasty mud, slippery and un- 
certain of hold, and a lost footing meant the base 
of the hill in an incredibly brief time. It was two 
o' clock A. M. when, besmeared and bedraggled, 
we reached the steamer, but it seemed scarcely 
later than five o'clock. Soon after, the steamer 



53 NORWAY. 

changed position and gave opportunity for deep- 
sea fishing until four A. m.^ but wearied and ex- 
hausted we lay in our berths, and while pondering 
in our hearts all these things we had seen, tinged 
as they were with sense of disappointment, but 
mingled with thanksgiving for the heavenly vision^ 
we dropped away to slumber sweet. 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 

V. 

We were late in rising the following morning, 
for we felt older in every way than the day before. 
We had met our '' Carcasonne " in Norway instead 
of Southern France, but felt it just as keenly. 
The sun was shining brightly, but sufficient clouds 
were hovering around to prove that the business 
was still ''^ carried on at the old stand/' About 
ten A. M. we stopped for fifteen minutes at Hammer- 
f est for the mail and then moved on and on through 
lake-like fjords, the sun making the deck enjoy- 
able and bringing outlying and distant slopes dis- 
tinctly in view. We were not in the bolder or 
wilder parts, yet the scenery was delightful, — in 
fact, all along the wliole cruise there was scarcely 
a mile that we would not have made an excursion 
to if at home. The genial captain said his instruc- 
tions were to have his passengers see the Midnight 
Sun, and so the course was altered to afford us one 
more chance. By noon we anchored in a little bay, 
where we quietly lay until midnight. But late 
in the day the sky again clouded, the wind became 
cold and keen, and at intervals the rain fell heavily. 
At eleven o'clock there was a little golden light in 
the cloud-laden sky. At eleven-thirty, utterly 
disheartened, tired and discouraged, we gave up 

53 



54 NORWAY. 

and went to bed. It was like a burial, for our 
last hope and chance disappeared with this hiding 
of the sun from our sight. Some of those who 
remained on deck until twelve-thirty declared 
that for one moment the sun^s disc was, with a 
glass, definable through the clouds, while others 
said it was the merest nothing of a sight. But at 
one-thirty the sky was clear and the sun visible. 
The next morning we were quietly moored in the 
pretty harbor of Tromso. The sun was shining 
and the general promise of clearing made us 
almost wish we were going the other way. After 
breakfast we went ashore and visited the Fishery 
Exhibition, with which this far-away town was 
celebrating its Centennial ; it was very interesting, 
although its scope was broader than its name, for 
about everything manufactured in l^orway and 
Sweden was gathered there. Stoves, machinery, 
furniture, furs, fish-oil, nets, apparatus and curious 
guns for firing a harpoon into a whale, and bags to 
use in pouring oil upon the troubled waters and a 
good American Buckeye Mower ! 

At twelve o^'clock we bade adieu to busy little 
Tromso under as fair a sky and in as mild an 
atmosphere as if yesterday were ages away. All 
the blessed afternoon we sailed over placid and 
sunny waters, with beautiful mountain, snow- 
flecked forms on either side. As we were getting 
farther south more hamlets and detached houses 
were visible and the lower slopes of the moun- 
tains quite heavily wooded. It was dreamy and 
peaceful ; but we had resisted the dampness and 



HAMLET. 55 

cold so long, and were so wearied, we could scarcely 
keep awake. We seemed to be passing through a 
chain of lakes, so shut in were we much of the 
time, and so often in face of the always interesting 
problem of Avhere we would pass out, and then we 
would round some hitherto unseen point and lo ! 
a vista, bold and grand, would open before us. 
About six o'clock we came into a scene of sur- 
passing loveliness and exhilarating grandeur. No 
pen can place that matchless and dazzling beauty 
of glassy waters, blue sky and towering mountains, 
bathed in the warm sunlight, adequately before 
one. Great needle-like peaks ; — a ridge of over- 
powering mountain forms white with snow, and 
great mound-like mountains tossed high in air 
enclosed us, while in the mirror-like waters they 
sank down and down in reflections of rare distinct- 
ness, depth and beauty. The fjord itself was like 
an inverted bowl with blue of sky, and brown and 
white of snow-touched hills, pictured upon it, like 
a delicate painting. We had come into the sub- 
merged Alps again, and it Avas grand and sublime. 
We had looked upon so much that was sombre and 
awe-inspiring that it was good to see the grand old 
forms all clothed in, and glorious with sunshine. 
Later, under the shadow of the sunlit heights, we 
gazed far away upon a vision of billowy, wave- 
tossed ranges, opalescent in color and dreamy to 
ecstasy in outline, and instinctively bared our 
heads in such kingly presence. Somehow, in the 
genial sunshine, the shadows of disappointment 
that enveloped and clung to us quite lifted, and 



55 NORWAY. 

we felt with sncli continuous weather we could at 
least go into Trondhjem with light and happy 
hearts. This cruise to the North Oape is a strange 
experience, for there is ^'^ no night there.'' When 
the sun does not pretend to go to bed even at 
twelve o'clock, it can be easily understood how 
one's reckoning of time becomes demoralized and 
only the hands upon the dial, the ship's bells, 
and the prompt announcement of the three meals, 
tell whether it is morning or evening, to-day or to- 
morrow. One writer facetiously says : 

" Frequently breakfast at five o'clock tea 
And dine on the following day." 

A lady who stopped at the Lofoden Islands and 
made the ascent of a mountain, said it was very 
droll when they returned at two o'clock A. m. to 
find the children playing in the village street ! 
But soon the western sky took on a pale and 
sickly tint, and it was evident the supply of mother- 
of-pearl was not exhausted, and ere long the 
blinding rain was upon us. Our spirits had so 
risen with the clearing weather and the prospect 
of a fine sun display (not the Midnight Sun, for 
that was a thing of the past) at an hour when 
sensible people are in bed and we had arranged to 
remain up, that, to use a slang phrase '^ it was 
hard ! " Some seemed to feel it was like adding 
insult to injury ! We hoped to see the sun set at 
nine o'clock and rise again at one-thirty. But the 
wind blew, and hour after hour the rain fell, and at 
eleven-thirty we were too tired and discouraged 



HAMLET. 57 

to care and went below. There was an awfully 
wicked satisfaction in hearing the next morning 
that those who remained upon the deck saw 
nothing ! 

The early hours of our last full day were hope- 
lessly stormy, and for awhile the sea rocked our 
cradle more than was pleasant. But at last we came 
into a protected highway, with Alps piled on Alps, 
their heads hooded with the inevitable clouds. 
Occasional sunlight however, could not lift it, 
above a cheerless, windy, leaden and rainy day, — 

** Sit where you will 
There's draught enough to turn a mill, — " 

which made the deck cheerless and the day weari- 
some. At eleven o^clock we stopped at the foot 
of the Svartisen, with enormous glacier said to be 
thirty-five miles in length and ten broad, covering 
a mountain plateau some four thousand feet in 
height and coming down like great frozen torrents 
to the sea, and almost every one walked to the base. 
We passed Torghattan at a distance and saw the 
light and sky beyond, through its weird and mys- 
terious tunnel. Late in the evening the western 
sky began to show signs of illumination. Streaks 
of red and bars of gold encouraged the expecta- 
tion of a beautiful sunset. But true to the record, 
just as it began to be gorgeous, snap went the 
cloud-kodak and it was leaden again ! Our trip, 
in so far as an unobstructed sight of the Midnight 
Sun was concerned, was a disappointment. 

There was literally '^nothing but scenery " for 
us ; but that was of such infinite variety, such 



58 NORWAY. 

breathless magnificence and such awe-inspiring 
effect, that we were satisfied. It is, however, a 
lottery at best. The tri|) previous to ours was un- 
marred by storm or cloud, while the two which 
followed were dismal failures. But even with the 
wonderful phenomenon of the Midnight Sun 
eliminated, — with Hamlet omitted, — the voyage 
is a rare epoch in anyone^s life, for it is practically 
a panorama of solitary and mountain ranges tossed 
about in every form and movement, and lovely sin- 
uous fjords or inlets, often with towering heights, 
like sentinels, commanding them and ■ waters 
stretching everywhere in calm beauty ; each scene 
and outlook so bathed and steeped in glowing 
colors which, transferred to canvas, would seem 
extravagant. Truly ^'^day unto day uttereth 
speech, night showeth knowledge," throughout 
this strange life upon the lonely waters. Eight 
continuous days of it, however, are more than 
mind can grasp or retain. One is so dazed and 
overpowered ! Words fail, while nerves, sense 
and spirit become utterly demoralized and con- 
fused. We wondered how people who have pleas- 
ant weather all the way, could live through the 
intoxication and excitement of it. Yet we would 
be willing to take the risk. 

Saturday, our last day, dawned heavy with clouds, 
which fortunately gradually lifted, so that when 
we came in sight of Troi>dhjem, so beantiful for 
situation, and at last within the breakwater, it was 
clear, beautiful and delightfully warm. And the 
words that greeted us, were, ''the iveather has 



THE PLAY WITH HAMLET OMITTED. 59 

been beautiful ever since you left.'' The letter of 
a friend from afar, said, ^' I hope you saw the 
' Midnight Snn.' If you did not, haply you will 
never know what you have missed ! " 

" Now sails are furled, for storms are o'er, 
And ships come into port." 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 

FKOM TEOKDHJEM TO BERGEiq-. 
I. 

The modes of conveyance in Norway are so va- 
ried and the changes so frequent^ that travelling 
there can never become monotonous, tame or con- 
ducive to ennui. In fact it is ideal, for one bowls 
cheerily over smooth roads and beautiful country 
for an hour or two, then changes to a steamer and 
quietly passes through silent or lonely fjords, and 
then perchance takes to the road again. Upon 
many of the routes, one can have a comfortable car- 
riage {they call them landmis) ; and may always 
have a "^ Stolkjserre," a two-wheeled vehicle, not 
unlike an ordinary butcher^s cart with seat for two 
persons, which so elevates that you are monarch of 
all you survey as you trundle gayly over the country, 
(the coachman being seated behind) ; or a cariole, 
the national conveyance, the drollest seat for one, 
swung between two wheels, with the jolly post-boy 
perched up behind, in which you bowl over the 
smooth roads in the most exhilarating fashion 
imaginable. The demands of the increasing num- 
ber of tourists are being rapidly met. Some really 
fine hotels are already established, while many 
pretty and tidy smaller ones are springing up all 

60 



A Carriole 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 61 

along the regular and most frequented routes. 
The study of English being obligatory in the public 
schools, there is no country in Europe where it is 
more generally spoken. The people are kind, at- 
tentive and easy to deal with, for as yet they are 
unspoiled by the tourist business. Evolution, how- 
ever, is a ceaseless force, and probably in due time 
they will rival the shrewd and frugal Swiss, and 
every traveller knows what that involves. In fact 
there is no continental country where simple jaunt- 
ing about is more exhilarating, entertaining or 
enjoyable. Although it was late in the season and 
the wiseacres shook their heads and said " rain " 
(as if they could tell us anything on that subject) 
we could not or would not withstand the tempta- 
tion of the flitting ^^o'er land and sea" so unlike 
any other travelling experience. The good ship 
*' Neptune " which brought us into port at noon, was 
announced to sail at nine-thirty p. m. for Bergen 
and intermediate ports, but with a lack of prompt- 
ness worthy of the Orient, it was midnight ere the 
the moorings were unloosened. After a glorious 
afternoon at Trondhjem, the unwelcome but famil- 
iar " patter of the summer rain," together with 
the utter weariness of flesh resulting from the 
North Cape trip, made us very willing to seek 
oblivion below. 

The next morning the sun wrestled awhile with 
the clouds, but came off second best. Rain fell 
and the day began cold and cheerless. At half- 
past eight we entered a little bay where, most pict- 
uresquely situated upon four islands, is Christian- 



63 NORWAY. 

sund, a very important trading-town witli dried 
cod-fisli for the Spanish market for its staple com- 
modity. Then followed two and one-half hours 
of exposure to the swell of the sea, which evidently 
was not in a placid mood. Molde, our objective 
point, being situated upon a fjord far from the 
sea, we had an hour of most delightful smooth 
sailing, with the neighboring islands and surround- 
ing mountains all bathed in sunlight, for by noon 
the skies began to clear. The approach to Molde 
was exquisitely beautiful, a royal progress by a 
stately gateway, peaceful lake-like waters and 
ranges of mountains and a multitude of cliffs and 
peaks in all shades of tender blue.* The steamer 
anchored off the picturesque and pretty little town, 
steam-launches from the two large hotels came out, 
and we were quickly transferred to the G-rand 
Hotel, superbly located upon a knoll some little 
way from the village. The view from our win- 
dows was magnificent, sweeping over a long, lake- 
like fjord, broken by a long line of low wooded 
islands, with beyond, rising in one lengthy pro- 
cession, a chain of fifty or more mountain peaks, 
dominated by the Romsdalshorn, with many a touch 
of snow, — yet it was as peaceful as Lake George, 
— as fine as any one of the Swiss lakes. The mount- 
ains, however, do not seem as breathlessly high 
as upon Lucerne. We were told no other place in 
Norway commands such an extensive panoramic 
view as this. The mountains are tossed along like 
waves and the changing effects of light, shadow and 
cloud, bewitch one all the daylong. Looking to 



i 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 63 

the right we could see a half mile away the ware- 
houses and cottages of the little town, above and 
beyond which was an open meadow and knoll with 
avenue of trees, and farther on against the sky an 
imposing range of mountains, Avhich, sloping to the 
water's edge, form one side of the regal and inspir- 
ing gateway to the sea beyond. Between the hotel 
and the village is a fine State church, Gothic in 
general character, with interior fittings entirely of 
wood, and over the altar a strikingly beautiful 
picture by Axel Endel of Christiania, of the three 
Marys at the sepulchre. The little town abounds 
in plain, comfortable, wooden houses, with almost 
every window (and their name in Norway is legion) 
prettily trimmed with white draperies and deco- 
rated with pots of blossoming floAvers. The growth 
of honeysuckle (at that time in full bloom) upon 
the houses is a marked feature of the place, while 
borders of stocks and asters blazed on every side. 
To the northwest of the town is the " Raeknae- 
shaug,'' a slight elevation with a charming minia- 
ture park or pleasure . ground for a crest, and a 
pretty pavilion upon the highest point, all kept in 
perfect order by the authorities. The outlook 
from it over the fjord, islands and mountains, 
near and distant, is one of rare loveliness and 
matchless beauty. Norway is not a howling wilder- 
ness by any means. Farther inland rises the 
Moldhei, a range some thirteen hundred feet in 
height, with a hut and, of course, a j^eerless view. 
Near the Avater on the Avest side of the toAvn is a 
fine and spacious hospital for lepers, surrounded 



64 NORWAY. 

by attractive and ornamental grounds. The dis- 
ease we always associate with the Orient is very 
common in Nordland, where the living is so poor 
and hard. Nobly does the government care for 
and provide for the unfortunates. Altogether, 
Molde, our first stopping-place in this northern 
clime, proved charming and delightful, the quality 
of the air strong and bracing, and the influence of 
the beautiful mountains and peaceful waters, rest- 
ful and soothing. We could sit upon the hotel 
balcony, satisfied with the exquisite picture which 
Nature presented ; could stroll along the country 
highway, faced with extremely pretty summer cot- 
tages of wealthy Christiansund merchants, with 
surrounding grounds tastefully and profusely orna- 
mented with flower gardens and shrubbery, and 
look across the opposite fields which sloped to the 
water^s edge and off upon the tranquil blue waters ; 
or in the little town and by the shore, find enter- 
tainment in many a national characteristic and 
feature. It is a succession of charming sylvan and 
rural pictures. Look where you will, you are cer- 
tain to see much natural and refined loveliness. 
One day we lifted our eyes, and over a rim of tree 
foliage rose a heaven-pointing spire, man^s tribute, 
while in the distance against the sky towered the 
lofty mountains. Nature's uplifting to the Lord 
of all. A lover of nature never wearies wherever 
he may be, for the outlook from every point 
and in every direction is finished and beautiful. 
The sylvan beauty of the immediate neighbor- 
hood, the majestic sweep of the distant serrated 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 65 

peaks and boundiug mountains, and the holy 
calmness of the fjord, with its ever regal gateway 
to the sea, form a combination fascinating and 
satisfying, and a sojourn there seems a pleasant 
dream. 

After six delicious restful days, an absolute ne- 
cessity, we turned away from it very reluctantly, 
taking in the afternoon a small steamboat and 
crossing the river-like fjord which our windows 
faced, rounded the low barrier of wooded islands, 
and to our surprise came into an extended lake- 
like expanse of waters. The complete change was 
almost magical ! We seemed at once upon an in- 
land sea, the royal gateway having disappeared in 
the shifting of position. All around were the 
snow-touched mountains and the less bold but 
everlasting hills. It was not, however, grand or 
overpowering ! We had seen too much to be long- 
er easily overwhelmed. But it was beautiful and 
stately, and, in its rapid changes, marvellous. We 
stopped at Vestnaes, which is really opposite 
Molde, although hidden from it by any intervening 
belt of islands. The scenery of the narrowing 
fjords became more wild, bold and striking, a jian- 
orama of mountains of every shape, apparently 
thrown together without plan, rising betimes ab- 
ruptly from the still waters, often hemming us com- 
pletely in and affording shifting views and vistas 
of indescribable beauty. These little Norwegian 
fjords are often full of tiny inlets, so that which- 
ever way you may look some dainty or impressive 
picture opens before yoiu But when every bound- 



66 NORWAY. 

ing mountain and every snow-flecked height 
against a blue sky are flushed with gladsome sun- 
light and the waters glisten like a mirror, it seems 
in the absolute stillness like the unfolding of a new 
heaven and a new earth. At the end of three and 
a half hours we came to ''Naes/' or more cor- 
rectly speaking, '' Aandalsnaes/^ most charmingly 
situated opposite the village of Veblungsnaes. 
(Naes, a very frequent term, signifies ''beyond 
the point.") Naes is scarcely more than a hamlet, 
quite near the wharf. Upon a slight elevation 
spreads out a broad plateau, a meadow of living 
green, facing which was the hotel, clean and tidy, 
but very plain and fairly comfortable. But with 
such a view as it commanded, what mattered it if 
the viands were mostly ancient and tough, the 
fish dry and salt and the dainties few ? Beyond 
the plateau and a level valley rose, in regal grandeur, 
three gigantic mountains, the Eomdalshorn with 
a trio of shattered peaks ; — the Troldtinder (witch 
pinnacles) with curiously sharp serrated ridge 
between two peaks, and one great mound-like 
giant. In every direction a picturesque quiet 
valley, a range of stately mountains or a stretch of 
shimmering waters, meets and delights the gaze. 
Our Sabbath day in this quiet haunt was suggestive 
and uplifting. Monday dawned clear and lovely 
and delightfully warm. In a two-horse easy car- 
riage which they persist in calling a ''landau," 
we started in exuberant spirits at a quarter-past 
eight o'clock, for a drive down the Romsdal, one 
of the finest bits of scenery the country affords. 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 67 

The air was as brilliant and transparent as in 
Colorado ; — the waters clear and placid, and the 
great mountains, bare of clouds, silent and grand. 
The road, which all the way was as smooth as a 
park drive, led across the plain or plateau our 
windows overlooked, and soon, by its curvings, all 
trace of Naes was hidden. On and on, through 
a valley which for awhile was very broad, past 
verdant meadows and wheat fields with golden 
sheaves stacked upon poles in single files, the air 
sweet with new-mown hay and everywhere the red- 
berried mountain ash, fluttering aspens and white- 
barked birches. All around stood the great silent 
mountains like stolid sentinels, and all the while 
by a road with many curves and turns we were 
slowly coming nearer and nearer to the base of the 
sublime and impressive peaks we had looked upon 
in the waiting Sabbath houi^. Ere long we were 
nestled in the very heart of the lofty heights, 
tossed in one smooth, wave-like movement, 
thousands of feet in air. All the way through the 
rock-bound valley the road is beside or near the 
Rauma, a rapid river whose exquisite chrysoprase 
waters are ever as clear as crystal. The way winds 
through thickets of alder and birch with many a 
vivid glimpse of green waters, or along the river's 
edge overlooking many a stretch of placid beauty 
or tumbled mass of foam and the bewitching tint 
of green, or close to the base of the mighty moun- 
tain barriers. A scanty growth makes green the 
base only of many a stupendous mass of stone, 
which, rising up and up into the crystalline air. 



68 NORWAY. 

forms tlie celebrated peaks. The bending road, 
often visible in its curvings a long way ahead, 
passes from the arena-like valley at the beginning, 
through a mighty gateway, guarded upon one side 
by the lofty Eomdalshorn which pierces the clouds 
at 4,965 feet, and upon the other, by the Trold- 
tinder or Witches' Pinnacles, 5,055 feet in height. 
The scene here is weirc^., strange and impressive 
The face of the Troldtinder is almost perpendicular 
and is bare and gray. From one point these 
colossal projections seemed like the huge bastions 
of some majestic fortress. Again, they look like 
the apsidal choir and the transepts of some exalted 
stately cathedral. The valleys but repeat the 
fjords, in that, by their turnings, very often one is 
shut in within an amphitheatre of lofty mountains 
with no visible way out. Often the bare, gray 
glittering mountains, closing in on every side, 
have an odd photographic or shadowy look, and 
when sunless, must be desolation itself. Over the 
ridge of one of the highest ranges plunges a 
volume of water which, breaking over the rocks, 
resolves into a mass of white foam to the val- 
ley depths. The ^"^ fosses, ^^ or falls, are a unique 
feature of Norwegian scenery and are numberless. 
All along this drive they were a perfect delight, 
and we counted twenty-five. One waves to and 
fro in the wind like a huge piece of white lawn. 
Fed by the glaciers and snows upon the mount- 
ain's crest, they make a beautiful feature in the 
landscape, and also keep the little river flush. 
Farther on the valley becomes less wild, the fields 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. ^69 

spread out again and tliuu the whole expanse 
seems filled with huge boulders, '^a chaos of 
enormous blocks/' The little river breaks into 
cascades over them ; the road winds curiously be- 
tween them ; and a touch and finish of beauty is 
given by the low alders and conical evergreens. 
It was interesting to note the entire change in the 
expression of different sections of this continuous 
Talley. "We stopped at Horgheim, a single inn, 
honored a few weeks before by a visit from Kaiser 
William and the Empress. Some seventeen miles 
from Naes we came to Flatmark, also a little tidy 
inn, overlooking a peaceful bit of the valley with 
meadows and the river, a perfect picture with its 
alder-lined banks. Then the ascent became per- 
ceptible. We left the valley-bed and crept gradu- 
;ally along the mountain-side through evergreen 
and birch, with constantly changing views below. 
iSome seven miles or more beyond we came to 
Ormheim, a pretty inn perched upon the hillside 
overlooking the finest w^aterfall of all, which from 
the summit of the opposite range pours in a great 
volume of water and, in its plnngings andflowings 
over the rocks, becomes finally a glittering torrent 
of dazzling white. Diverted by a flume some way 
up the mountain-side, it finally pours into the 
yalley in two broad white belts which, in the sun- 
light, are beautiful beyond description. This was 
the limit of our drive. Beyond, the vista of the 
valley was a closing in of green sloping hillsides, 
one after another, with apparently all the wildness 
eliminated. After an excellent dinner and rest- 



70 NORWAY. 

ing-spell for man and beast we started to return. 
The drive up consumed five hours, the return 
but three. It seemed finer than in the morning. 
The light was different and more subdued, and as 
we were descending, more was swept with a single 
glance. The joy of this drive is inexpressible. 
The great mountains in their variety of form and 
color are so impressive and suggestive that thought, 
emotion and heart are kept constantly upon the 
alert. 

It was seven-fifteen o'clock when we reached 
Naes ; the western sky was angry, watery and 
cloudy, but we cared not, for had we not a lasting 
memory and picture in our hearts of the peerless 
Romsdal, in all the glory of blue sky, white float- 
ing clouds and glorious sunshine ? 



O^ER LAND AND SEA. 

TRON"DHJEM TO BERGEJ^". 

IL 

In" glowing sunshine we left Naes at eight 
o'clock A. M., and as we stopped at a multitude of 
unpretentious hamlets, which carried us into many 
of the tiny inlets and so diversified the route we 
had passed over a few days previously, it seemed a 
new itinerary, a fresh picture, consuming twice the 
length of time. We left the steamer at Vestriaes 
at twelve o'clock and were escorted to the Hotel 
Stanley, a very modern cottage with a charming 
view, for dinner, preparatory to taking to the 
road. The proprietor frankly told us that, owing 
to a crowded house the night before (one guest 
being a Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court), he 
had nothing in the larder and would be obliged to 
forage in the neighborhood for supplies ! The 
meal would have suggested the household situa- 
tion even if he had not confessed it. Some two 
or three hours later the vehicle, looking much like 
a hearse, with black curtains buttoned closely 
down, came to the door. The mountain range 
we were to cross was enveloped and well-nigh 
hidden by storm-clouds. We concluded to wait 
an hour, and in less than that time the rain fell 

71 



73 NORWAY. 

heavily. We were no longer upon a steamer 
and could control our movements and so settled 
down for the night, humbly hoping the hens of 
the neighborhood had that day done their duty, 
and feeling very sure that the supply of salt fish 
in Norway could never quite give out. A wild, 
windy and tempestuous night was followed by a 
glorious day, with crystalline air and brilliant sun- 
shine, most favorable to our sixteen-mile drive over 
the range to Soholt. For awhile the perfectly 
smooth road led along a hillside in switchback 
fashion, overlooking a long inlet with placid waters 
and mountains beyond, Backward, the view was 
across the fjord in the direction of Molde and on 
and on to a bewildering cluster of deep blue hills 
and mountains. After awhile our way turned into 
the valley, or passed between the two lofty ranges 
to which we had gradually ascended, very beautiful 
and unlike any other, for they bounded up on either 
side, in a perfectly regular and unbroken slope, 
the valley looking like the trough of the sea be- 
tween its great billow-enclosing walls. It was 
graceful, finished and beautiful. The valley was 
green with birch and alder, and bright with hearths- 
ease, dandelions and purple flowers, and in some 
places fairly pink with '' bonnie blooming heath- 
er." Through this great, cradle-like valley the 
road gradually ascended to a height of one thousand 
feet. In the most elevated part were herds of cat- 
tle, — it being the custom to take them to these 
elevated pastures upon St. John^s day (twenty- 
fourth of June), and to bring them down the fif- 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 73 

teentli of September. Every here and tliere were 
little huts to shelter hay, and along the roadside 
numerous long, upright poles to mark the way when 
obliterated by the winter snows. Two or three 
dairies with waterwheels were passed. The butter 
looked very palatable, but the life appeared hard 
all along the way. There were plenty of unsung 
'' Maud Mullers, " and every oiie of them looked as 
if she had '' married a man, unlettered and poor." 
Up and up, until the valley became almost a pla- 
teau. The suggestion was of Scotland and Wales 
rather than Switzerland. One most peculiar effect 
was produced by the sunlight slanting through 
hundreds, yes, thousands, of birches, upon one of 
the billow-like mountain slopes. It seemed as if 
every leaf stood plainly out and the mass became 
a peculiar luminous ashen green, quite like the 
pensive olives. In that lonely, uplifted place, so 
still, and devoid of any sign of life, it was solemn 
and impressive, like unto a great company which 
no man could number, going up to the Mount of 
God. The descent was very lovely, for constantly 
before us were snow-crested, sunny and deep blue 
mountains. The road was prettily shaded, but we 
passed along at a speed which made us devoutly 
hope the carriage was in order and the breeching 
unbreakable ! Down and down we passed, with 
the road ahead fluttering through the green of tree 
foliage, or marking that of fields, as with a white 
or light gray ribbon. As we neared the village we 
looked down upon the arm or bay of the fjord, 
along the shore of which the eighteen or twenty 



74 NORWAY. 

habitations wliicli make Solicit are strung like a 
row of beads. A more delicate or refined picture 
than it presented cannot be imagined. The wa- 
ters were like glittering glass, repeating each 
mountain height in their placid, transparent 
depths. The view is down a long, river-like fjord, 
with mountains rising from two to three thousand 
feet. The little cottages were embowered in trees, 
flowers and fruit-ladened pear trees trained like 
vines against the side walls, while honeysuckles ran 
riot, and such old-fashioned flowers as campanulas, 
sweet-williams and monVs-hood fairly crowded the 
little terrace gardens. The hotel was character- 
istic, with funny little beds not wider than steamer 
berths, everything as " clean as silver, " and with 
most palatable and excellent cuisine. The evening 
was one of ineffable peace and transcendent loveli- 
ness ; the little hamlet and gentle valley being en- 
veloped in the cool shadows of the surrounding 
and eternal hills ; the mountain crests and the 
nearer hilltops tender and glowing with the soft 
glory of the later sunlight beyond our day; the 
waters of the bay, placid and of mirror-like smooth- 
ness, with here and there a rude fishing-boat 
moored a little way from the shore ; the mountain 
walls of the fjord in the haze, cloud-like in outline 
and delicate in color, while the little spire, in all 
this serenity and repose, pointed heavenward with 
a new significance and meaning. It seemed as if 
all Nature and our responsive souls were lowly 
breathing. 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 75 

*' At peace with all the world, dear Lord, and Thee, 
No fears my soul's unwavering faith can shake : 
All's well, whichever side the grave for me 
The morning light may break." 



The following morning we were rowed to a wait- 
ing steamer, took our places in the bow and in a 
tremor of delight watched it moving directly 
towards forbidding mountain walls only to see it 
turn at most unexpected moments and reveal a 
new vista more beautiful than the last. It is 
quite imjDossible to satisfactorily describe these 
Norwegian fjords. One sees so much of the same 
character, of stupendous heights springing 
abruptly or curving, sloping gracefully from the 
water^s edge ; — looks so often upon range beyond 
range and peak above peak that that which would 
be grand and sublime if suddenly come upon or 
seen but once, becomes almost a matter of course. 
What matters it if the heights are not more than 
three to five thousand feet ! Seen from the water 
level, the awe-inspiring, overpowering effect is the 
same. The snow in patches is not as dazzling or 
fine as the solid white and covered i3eaks of the 
Alps. Yet like the spots of a tiger's skin these 
pockets frequently give to the mountain sides a 
curiously and picturesquely mottled appearance 
which is often exquisite. The apparent endless- 
ness of these bold turbulent and bounding heights 
fairly takes away one's breath. The steamer made 
a landing, the view from which was grand and 
sublime while soft and delicate, across an open 



76 NORWAY. 

bay, from which rolled gracefully and towered 
gently, colossal mountains, blue and tender in tint 
and color. A few moments later we were in 
a narrow way hemmed in by a succession of 
tall peaks, a stately and impressive procession. 
Serpentine does not begin to express the 
steamer's meandering course. The sunlight 
touching the summits and the mountain walls 
made the way luminous and glorious as a pageant. 
How difficult this sailing, sailing, with the blue 
above and the blue below, the gigantic mountains 
on either side with numerous white cascades or 
falls tumbling down their faces, and in the clear 
atmosphere solitary water-fowls flying, is to por- 
tray ! Verily, we were being led by still waters, 
for the surface was like molten glass or silver, and 
in its clear, mirror-like face was reflected the form 
and color of the rock-bound shores with weird, 
unearthly effect. That which began in early morn- 
ing in clouds and with threatening of storm, be- 
came, under the influence and power of the warm 
sunlight, a glorified vision, a revelation of soft 
tranquil impress upon a scene stern and grand in 
its boldness and grandeur. One little upland 
valley sloping towards but ending high above the 
water, showed in the midst of all this wildness, 
fertile farms, well stacked grain-fields and some 
rude but picturesque huts or dwellings. The 
mountain cottages are very rude and possess none 
of the ornamental and picturesque appearance of 
the Swiss chalets. Often the long white water- 
falls alone break the profound and absolute still- 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 77 

ness. A ripple a few feet long appears upon the 
glassy surface. Down swoops a water-fowl and 
the festive little herring that once knew these 
pretty waters knows them no more ! Such is 
life ! Something is devouring something else the 
whole livelong time ! At the end of the fjord a 
landing was made at Hellesylt, a hamlet of a 
dozen houses, two or three hotels and a church, 
at the base of frowning mountains ; the steamer 
turned and sailed back a ways, passed along an- 
other and narrower fjord, the peaks and heights 
grew bolder and bolder, taller and taller, when at 
last it turned abruptly and, Avonder of wonders ! 
we entered the famous Geiranger Fjord ! To at- 
tempt to tell of it reminds of fools rushing in 
where angels dare not tread ! It was the " be 
quiet and behold what I can do^' of the rocks 
and mountains. A narrow water-way walled with 
heights from 4,200 to 5,000 feet, is the plain En- 
glish of it, but its effect can never be expressed 
in Avords. One suddenly finds his vocabulary ex- 
hausted ! ''^ Grand, sublime, stupendous and 
gigantic " have come to the \ips so often in the 
weird North Cape pilgrimage, that now in com- 
parison, they are inadequate to tell of this won- 
drous journey. This fjord is considered by many 
the finest bit of scenery in Norway. The mount- 
ains soar away skyward as if in possession of in- 
herent power of motion and fiight. The water- 
falls are exquisite, for pendant from some topmost 
ledge hangs a long veil of white ; over preci- 
pices and along rolling rocky mountain-aides 



78 NORWAY. 

ai:)pear great masses of foam which contrast finely 
with the sombre faces of the rocks. In some 
places the mountains present a sheer precipitous 
front and water in long waving plumes drops along 
their surface. The narrow^ rock-walled fjord is 
not seen at a glance, for its course is sinuous, 
occasioning rapid and perpetual surprises, and 
each vista, each little amphitheatre or bowl, seems 
fairer and finer than the last. One moves too fast 
upon a steamer and would fain drift in a row-boat 
between these sky-scrapers and along their solitary 
depths. A sudden turn and to the left four white 
streams, close together, plunge over the summits 
thousands of feet above, and break in long trails 
of spray-like lace or snowy plumes. These were 
the celebrated Seven Sisters, but three seemed to 
have retired from the firm — evidently time and 
circumstances make ravages in the waterfall family 
as well as in others ! Opposite a heavy fall breaks 
apparently from the rock as if it had been smitten 
as of old and falls a white and glittering torrent 
into the fjord. Within this one little arena-like 
enclosure seems grouped all that is grand and up- 
lifting in mountain height, and all that is dazzling 
and beautiful in rushing foam-like torrents and still 
and placid waters. It was the most glorious day 
we had enjoyed in Norway, not excepting the never- 
to-be-forgotten Sabbath when upon the steamer we 
passed through the marvellous Eaf tsund and under 
the shadows of the wonderful Lofoden Islands. 
Switzerland may show something higher or loftier 
but surely nothing finer or more satisfying than 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 79 

this. But still higher and higher reared and 
plunged the gigantic forms, yet the waters were so 
peaceful and placid it seemed as if at last the lion 
and the lamb had lain down together. And then, 
ah ! too soon ! we saw the end, like unto a great 
amphitheatre with a solemn company of on-look- 
ing mountains and depths of flashing crystalline 
waters, and the little hamlet of Merok. Perched 
upon the hillside, ten minutes^ walk from the 
shore, is the pretty Hotel Union with balconies, 
gables, dormers and terrace galore, from which the 
amphitheatre disappears and the fjord encircled 
by the huge cyclopean mountains becomes a tiny 
basin or bowl. A superb road, guarded with great 
blocks of granite, zigzags leisurely to the water, 
passing a queer octagonal church and overlooking 
a tumultuous mountain stream roaring, plunging 
and dashing past great boulders and over a rough 
rocky bed in its haste to reach the fjord. A 
lovely place this for a prolonged sojourn ! Back 
of the hotel, the scene, if arranged and artificial, 
could scarcely be more dramatic or spectacular, for 
the mountain, with one sloping movement, bounds 
up some fifty-seven hundred feet, spreading like a 
great wall or barrier scooped out or bent like a bow, 
or the end of an elliptical amphitheatre, with at 
either end a solitary peak like a bastion tower. 
In the centre of this curving barrier from the very 
summit, plunges in a dozen falls and as many cas- 
cades a stream of dazzling white foam which forms 
the mad torrent passing down to the fjord. A 
magnificent carriage-road for a long way climbs in 



80 NORWAY. 

numerous and quickly repeated zigzags the face of 
the barrier, and by its parapets, which appear like 
the battlements of some extensive fortifications and 
by its arched stone bridges over the stream, add 
much to the spectacular and studied appearance. 
It was surpassingly beautiful when, away beyond the 
the heights, was seen the warm blue of the heavens 
with great dazzling white clouds floating along, 
like the numberless throng who ''have washed 
their robes." By this wonderful road a charming 
excursion is made to a glacier and lake some seven 
or eight miles distant. We drove along its course 
for two hours or more, losing sight of Merok and 
passing through two elevated fertile valleys and 
ascending for some distance the steep mountain- 
sides, by the repeated zigzags ; always with a fine 
view of environing country and imposing heights. 
All the way the outer edge was guarded by huge 
blocks of stone like a parapet. There were miles 
of smooth stone walls and an amount of filling in 
that was appalling. Good roads obtain in Norway. 
This road is now complete and constitutes one of 
the finest routes and drives ''across country," 
which^ in our case was necessarily relegated to a 
hoped for "next time." 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 

TEONDHJEM TO BERGEl^T. 
III. 

The charm of pleasure travel is the going and 
coming at your own sweet will, resting and tarry- 
ing without plan, if a place proves unexpectedly 
attractive or the weather becomes unpropitious. 
But in Norway one is not master of the situation, 
for, owing to the steamers not sailing upon the same 
days or at the same hours in every Aveek, one must 
often be at a certain point at a specified time or 
wait two or three days perhaps in uninteresting 
surroundings. When time is unlimited it makes 
little difference, but as many are upon a brief holi- 
day it necessitates or tempts to an amount of Sun- 
day travel which is appalling and deplorable. The 
Norwegians are a simple folk and Sabbath-keepers. 
Even where there is no service they cease from 
labor and attired in their best garments may be 
seen talking quietly in groups. At many of the 
hamlets a State church may be seen, where every 
few weeks a service is observed. If near a fjord, 
it is a beautiful sight to see the people in quaint 
costumes and odd head-dresses coming from far 
and near, in the little boats. But the increasing 
tide of travel bids fair to demoralize the people 

8X 



82 NORWAY. 

and desecrate the day ; and Christian England 
and America must answer for much of it some 
day. A rainy morning made departure from pretty 
Merok seem uncertain and undesirable, but with 
the usual fickleness the weather changed in the 
afternoon an hour or two before the time for the 
steamer to leave, patches of blue appeared, and 
when we left the clouds were rolling away. 
Around the crests of many of the heights along 
the fjord which, fortunately, we had seen in all the 
glory of blue sky and golden sunlight, the clouds 
still hung, making the altitude seem greater. 
The four waterfalls were really finer in the sombre 
tones. From sequestered Merok and the lake- 
like amphitheatre of the Geiranger Fjord we 
passed in an hour and a half to Helleslyt where a 
'' carriage and pair/^ pretty well soaked with the 
day's showers, awaited us, for a drive to Grrodias, 
some twenty-two miles away. The scene was fine 
as we began to wind up the steep hillside, for the 
clouds had rolled away and the fjord, shut in by 
mountains, was a lovely chrysoprase green. The 
way led through an elevated valley, beside a rush- 
ing torrent. At first, the great slopes on either 
side of the narrow valley were quite covered with 
balsam and evergreen, then the valley widened, un- 
til at last it became open country with horizon 
hemmed in with towering, breathless mountains 
covered with extensive areas of snow with fre- 
quently some mighty glacier. It was so still and 
holy, the air was so fresh, the blue sky and light 
suffuged clouds so exquisite, that it was an idyl of 



A Stolkjaerre 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 83 

quieting and restful influence. Again the road, of 
government construction, was fine and smooth, 
with much supporting wall and outside protection 
of stone. In the fields, although half-past eight 
o'clock, men were mowing and women were rak- 
ing the hay. We passed the first flock of sheep 
we had seen and later a multitude of goats perched 
upon the rocks in most picturesque fashion. In 
the midst of this lonely and solitary country we 
stopped at a log hut and — teleplioned to the next 
station to have horses ready ! It seemed as incon- 
gruous and out of harmony with this idyllic scene 
as the electric light in the oriental cafe at Tangier. 
The mountains, with but one exception, and that 
a miniature Matterhorn on the road to Oie, were 
great rolling heights with white spots here and 
there upon their dun faces. The pink heather 
showed like a blush upon the surface of the coun- 
try. It was a lovely mountain drive, the kind 
which makes one content to be in their embrace. 
The road ascends some eight hundred feet and the 
descent over an open country was made in rapid 
time, in fact, we fairly flew. About nine o'clock 
we saw a little spire and several houses, and pass- 
ing the large inn were soon quartered, as we had 
been advised, at Raftvold's little hotel at Grodias, 
— a very tiny and unpretentious house, — but ad- 
mirably served and kept. Close to the water it 
reminded us much of the white cottages at Bolton, 
Lake George. After supper, about ten o'clock, we 
went out for a stroll ! The little hamlet lies at 
the end of Lake Horningdal and looks along a 



84 NORWAY. 

lovely vista of cool waters and dark mountains. 
The landlady for our entertainment donned the 
complete attire of a Norwegian bride, of scarlet 
cloth, white and black lace, ornaments of beads, 
silver and gold, with profusion of imitation stones 
quite Russian in its gorgeousness. Worn upon the 
head was a tall crown of silver, of gracefully bend- 
ing leaves to which were attached drops of silver 
and discs of gold and from the back and sides, 
pendant, was a row of gold and embroidered gal- 
loon and ribbon. It had been loaned and worn 
repeatedly, few being able to possess the outfit. 
Prices are not exorbitant anywhere in Norway, 
as yet, but this tidy comfortable little house sur- 
passed all others in the modesty of its terms. In 
fact, the bill was so infinitesimal we instinctively 
asked if it were for one or two ? 

Beyond this lay a lovely three hours' drive 
along borders of lake and fjord, through thickets 
of birch and evergreen, a steep climb with lovely 
views over the water, with air redolent with bal- 
samic odors, pink heather most profuse and the 
wild cranberry covering the rocks as in Maine. 
The descent to Faleide, our terminus, was by a 
superb road with beautiful stone parapet, which 
so wound and doubled and curved that we could 
see it constantly below us through the pines. Fa- 
liede proved to be a hotel and a half dozen low build- 
ings upon the Nordf jord, so lifted up as to com- 
mand a fine view to right and left of stately moun- 
tains closing in, producing the oft-repeated lake- 
like effect. Here we made the one mistake of our 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 85 

tour, in that we did not go to Loen and its won- 
derful lake and glacier. An hour's sail brought 
us to Utvick, from which we began at once in a 
stolkJEerre the ascent of a steep mountain. The 
retrospect was simply magnificent, for as we 
climbed higher and higher we looked down upon 
the fjord with great heights rising abruptly, and 
way off upon the summits of distant ranges all 
flecked and mottled with sunshine and cloud 
shadows. In an hour we came to a place so steep 
that every one is obliged to walk to the summit, 
a full half mile. We looked at the small Nor- 
wegian pony dragging the little cart, with 
amazement. The mountain-top, an expanse of a 
mile, was sublime in its desolate sweep and its sol- 
emn solitariness. In two or three places we came 
upon snow that August day. The descent was 
disagreeable, for the road was steep and poor and 
stretched along a wearisome slope. But ah ! the 
view beyond ! Way down below lay a fertile valley 
with many wretched houses, and beyond, abruptly 
rising mountains. To the left opened the vista of 
a narrow valley closed by one great peak. Reach- 
ing at last the valley we bowled along a fine road 
to Egge, where we supped, and then for a half 
hour drove through the narrow valley which the 
hotel guards. It was fine, for on either side the 
great mountains rose sternly thousands of feet, and 
all the way beside the road was a mad rushing 
stream breaking over boulders and rocky bed, while 
from the heights plunged several of the always en- 
chanting waterfalls. It was a gigantic gullij with 



86 NORWAY. 

great wave-tossed walls, and in the twilight was 
possibly more awe-inspiring with its sombre lines 
and solemn air, than in the broad sunlight. In 
some places a perfect avalanche or torrent of 
boulders tumbled to the very edge of the road. 
Then we turned into a more open country, and 
looked down a lateral valley with grand old mon- 
archs to the right and left of us. At ten-thirty 
p. M. we were sheltered at Skei, with the prospect 
of a quiet Sabbath and the English Church service 
on the morrow. It is a charmingly restful situa- 
tion, a great amphitheatre, a wide, undulating 
valley surrounded by the mighty heights, and close 
to the hotel, and apparently to the end of valley, a 
narrow river-like lake, the Jolstervand, which 
stretches away, after disappearing at a point three- 
quarters of a mile from the hotel, some fourteen 
miles. Along the base of the ranges are many 
pretty farms, far above which, near the summits, 
glitter huge glaciers and eternal shows. A two- 
hours' boat-ride and a drive of one and a half 
hours beside the Jolster river, and through a 
delightful pine forest which filled the warm and 
sunny air with balsamic fragrance, through a 
broadening valley into open country covered with 
fertile farms with fine views of towering mount- 
ains and one superb waterfall, carried us some 
twenty-eight miles farther upon our joyous 
way and left us at pretty Forde. There we 
found a delightful hotel, and as we sat un- 
der the trees it seemed as if we were in our own 
land. A short distance down the pretty country 



O^ER LAND AND SEA. 87 

road, was a long narrow bridge spanning a 
wide, rapid, but shallow river, with waters clear 
and pure as crystal. Only the limner's brush and 
canvas could portray the scene at twilight, so like 
England in its tender and meditative suggestion, — 
so like Scotland in the rugged and sturdy presence 
of surrounding mountains with their expression of 
Divine strength and remembrance. The pretty 
river with its banks bordered and fringed with low 
dipping alders, or spreading out in level pasture 
land dotted with shapely trees, farther on in the 
thickening verdure, the red roofs of cottages, and 
beyond against the dull background of the silent, 
eternal hills, a single white spire, and over and upon 
all, like a benediction, a brooding sense of perfect 
peace and refreshing peace, made of things material 
a spiritual hymn of loving praise and a song of 
restful confidence. Unlike any other place we 
have visited, there was the finish of farming land 
and life as well as the wild glorious freedom of 
o'ershadowing mountains. Xorway is a country 
where it is impossible not to ''look mournfully into 
the past," for there are so many places a lover of 
Nature leaves reluctantly and remembers with 
earnest longing. So when we left the next day, 
we cared less for the future and more to indelibly fix 
this exquisite idyl, the lovely picture of the fertile 
valley and pretty Forde, forever in our memory. 
Immediately upon leaving we began the ascent of 
a steep mountain-side. At a turning of the road 
we met a large number of women coming down 
from the mountain pastures with milk. Witli 



88 NORWAY. 

tlieir pails in hand and small flat cans strapped to 
their shoulders, their scarlet bodices and white 
sleeves, they made a most picturesque scene in the 
closely wooded road, the more so when they gath- 
ered around our cart, and a veritable Witch of Endor 
in queer costume, interviewed our blue-eyed boy- 
driver. For awhile it was only a pretty road creep- 
ing upward, — an environment of pine trees, — great 
abrupt mountain spurs and a roaring stream. 
Then a hill country, jolting us up and down, — a 
road following for two or three miles a little lake 
with superb view of an abrupt pointed Matterhorn 
peak, four thousand five hundred feet in height, 
and then over the mountain again. We had lunch 
at a charming wayside inn, and then passed more 
mountains, and woods, and a little lake in the 
trough of a valley formed by two ranges. This 
dwindled to a rapid flowing stream through the 
depths of a most impressive and magnificent glen, 
with mountains rising precipitately upon either side 
two thousand eight hundred and three thousand 
feet, while constantly before us was the end in the 
distance, like a gigantic gateway. At two o^clock 
we reached Yadheim, which is a three-story hotel 
and a half dozen houses, with a lovely outlook 
upon the Sogne, the most imposing, because of its 
length of one hundred and twelve, and its width in 
some places of four miles, of all the Norwegian 
fjords. It is utterly impossible to picture this 
expanse of waters, with its majestic and imposing 
environment of mountains and glaciers, its little 
indentations and its deep lateral bays, its superb 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 89 

view or glimpse of the great Jostelsbrae, the larg- 
est glacier in Europe, weird and unearthly with the 
cold blue gleam of distant ice. We were rapidly 
falling into a condition of utter despair with the 
thought of remembering or giving any idea of Nor- 
way's versatile charms and wonders ! For three 
hours we simply looked in speechless wonder and 
then were conscious of approaching Balholm, won- 
derfully picturesque from the water with its jaunty 
and pretty hotels and numerous summer villas, and 
lovely from the land. It is quite an English water- 
ing-place, and more like one of our summer resorts 
than any place we have seen. The situation is 
certainly unusually fine, the view from it holding 
its own even with Lucerne. The outlook is appar- 
ently upon a wide lake with deep bays at either 
end, all environed and closed in by great blue 
bounding, snow-flecked mountains, grand and im- 
pressive beyond expression. There is danger in 
Norway of being surfeited with superb mountain 
and lake views, for they are apparently inexhaust- 
ible. This is but one of a hundred. Norway 
seems like a great tumbled mass of rocks over which 
water has been poured freely, some of which is 
frozen upon the heights in glaciers, or lies in the 
mountain gaps in snow, or running down the sides 
in numberless waterfalls has deluged and made 
lakes of the otherwise fertile valleys. We left 
charming Balholm and its lovely walks and ex- 
quisite views and in a very few moments lost sight 
of it as we turned into Fjaerland Fjord. For two 
hours we sailed between towering heights with 



90 NORWAY. 

repeated closings giving a lake-like effect. The 
water was like a mirror;, the stillness so profound 
and at times oppressively solitary and solemn. 
The reflection of the colors of the bare and tree- 
covered slopes was something wonderful. Way off 
at the end we could see sections of the great 
glaciers we were to visit. At times the wake 
of the vessel and the flying of a solitary water-fowl 
alone broke the stillness. The hotel at Fjaerland 
commands a fine view, a gateway of mountains 
with glimpses of the glaciers, offshoots of the 
famous Jostelsbrae. Like a huge waterfall, over 
the very summits of a group of cone-like peaks, 
tumbles the Suphellebrae, or glacier, which, dis- 
appearing behind a mountain, shows again in a 
long, stream-like mass in the valley. An uninter- 
esting and rather rough drive of an hour carried 
us to the end of the little valley, a semicircular 
terminus where, before us from mountain top to 
valley depth, flowed like a suddenly chilled or con- 
gested stream, the great Bojumsbrae. A walk of 
a half hour over marshy meadow and stony stream 
beds placed us face to face with a grand and im- 
pressive spectacle. From four thousand feet 
above came, like a victorious, triumphant but 
demoralized host, a sea or turbulent cascade of 
ice, tossed in peaks and turrets and seamed and 
rifted into countless blue crevasses. When it 
reached the valley, instead of stretching out in a 
long trail, it seemed suddenly arrested or dammed 
up and lifting its kingly head in air, seemed 
abruptly cut off. As we stood before this mighty 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 91 

fa9ade, it seemed like some architectural freak, 
with its pinnacles and towers, and within the broad 
flat face at base, a most symmetrical low arch, 
from which issued a rajiid stream. The color was 
enchanting, being in every shattering and rifting 
an indescribable and exquisite blue, while in the 
stream lay great blocks of ice of the same peerless 
tint. All the way up scintillated and flashed the 
glowiug white and unearthly blue, while the 
smooth, glittering face seemed like some priceless 
quartz or precious stone. So weird and unearthly 
it appeared that as we watched the water pouring 
beneath the wondrous arch, we could think of 
nothing but ^*^and he showed me a pure river 
of water of life proceeding out of the throne of 
God." 

A drive of three-quarters of an hour (as if this 
were not enough) brought us to a valley across 
which stretched a ^^ thus far and no farther " wall, 
the end of the Suphellebrae, which tumbles as it 
were like a torrent, over the heights above, breaks 
and ceases in two prominent ridges. A half-dozen 
water-falls come roaring down the mountain-side, 
while at the base stretches out a huge frozen stream 
thirty to fifty feet in height. As we gazed several 
huge masses were detached as by an explosive and 
plunged down with a deafening roar. The sun 
came out, and high in air the glacier stood glori- 
fied. Flashing white and glittering blue, — battle- 
ments, pinnacles, towers and turrets stood out 
against the azure sky, carrying our thoughts to 
the Court of Honor and Cliicago's wonderful and 



93 



NORWAY. 



magical group^ which made the white city by the 
Lake shore a dream of beauty^ and ere long to a 
better country — even a heavenly, a city not made 
with hands. 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 

TRONDHJEM TO BERGEiq^. 

IV. 

Although the weather was often wet and for- 
bidding, Norway in all its phases was such a con- 
tinual surprise and delight that it is difficult to 
sjDcak of any of its characteristic and peculiar 
features, even if repeatedly seen, without enthusi- 
astic emphasis. Any one who could look unmoved 
upon the august, inspiring scenery of the Fjaer- 
land, Sogne, Aurland and Naero fjords, as he passes 
from one into another in unbroken progress, is 
simply to be commiserated. Leaving Fjaerland, 
we 23assed back to the Sogne Fjord and for an hour 
were moving, moving upon this great sheet of 
brilliant water, looking upon the lofty silent 
mountains, with in some places, pretty farms and 
villages at their base. Ere we reached Aurlands 
Fjord one of the sudden changes so common oc- 
curred, and in discomfort we stood with umbrellas 
watching the grand panorama, but thrilled with 
the stately and lofty mountains which closed us 
in on every side. Some were so gray that, when 
the sun broke through, they flashed and glit- 
tered with unearthly radiance. This and the 
Naero fjord into which we turned are really great 

93 



94 NORWAY. 

nigged breathless ravines filled with water. Rocky 
and barren, save a low growth of evergreen in 
patches, the great monarchs lift their gray glitter- 
tering heads two and three thousand feet, and over 
the summit of the heights, and frequent waterfalls 
hang in trembling and shivering whiteness and 
break over the rocky way into the fjord below. 
Leaving the rain and the clouds the steamer turned 
into the Nsero fjord ! It is a sensation, to say the 
least ! It differs from the Greiranger in that it is 
more open, yet in some places it narrows to a de- 
file and everywhere is strikingly grand and over- 
whelmingly severe and sombre, and has one magni- 
ficent waterfall some three thousand feet in height. 
It was sunshine and showers all the way, so we 
stopped at Grudvangen for the night ; for beyond it 
lies in peerless beauty the IST^rodal or valley, one 
of the choicest bits of Norwegian scenery. There 
is no hurrying a Norwegian ! Yon may fret and 
fume and hloiv, but they will look yon quietly in 
the face and move only when they are ready. We 
wanted to leave at an early hour for this drive, but 
it was ten o^clock ere the stolkjserre was at the 
door. A lovely drive it proved. Much fairer 
than the Romsdal. A narrow ravine with frequent 
turnings, a rapid river meandering through farms 
and green pastures, with scenery wild, grand and 
imposing, revealing a succession of superb and 
striking views and a little ribbon-like road, ex- 
presses faintly the characteristics of the Neerodal 
(or valley). In three quarters of an hour we came 
in sight of " Jordalsnut^^ a huge round-headed 



In the Naerofiordl 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 95 

cone-like mountain rising gray, smooth and bare, 
alone, from the valley. Across the valley, making 
it like the fjords a '^ cul-de-sac," was a great ab- 
rupt, lofty barrier a thousand feet above. To one 
side, over this poured a very large waterfall, one 
of the finest we have seen. To the other, a sjiur 
of the mountain, like the back of some crouching 
or sleeping leviathan, comes steeply and rapidly 
down. Upon this, zigzag walks and parapets and 
white lines reveal the way out, which is upward ; 
for the road climbs uphill all the way to the sum- 
mit where stands Stallheim, the most charming 
hotel in ^^orway. One had a fine opportunity of 
seeing the magnificent valley, for at the beginning 
of the zigzags, sixteen in all, we were requested to 
alight and icalk up. We were an hour covering 
the ground, for at every angle we stood entranced 
with the view of narrow valley, interlacing mount- 
ains, frowning heights, fertile depths and be- 
witching play of sunshine and shadow. The 
hotel is ornate and j)leasing and its situation unique. 
Upon one side it looks down and down into the blue 
valley depths. Along its waving course the great 
mountains stand as picturesquely as if arranged 
and ordered, to be seen from this point alone, all 
clothed in brown, green, gray and purple. Near 
by, the valley shows as upon a green map, a very- 
meandering river and a waving serpentine road 
and oh I such an expression of absolute quiet and 
delicious stillness. It is profound in its solemn 
grandeur, satisfactory in its exquisite grace of out- 
line and bewitching in its harmonious colorings. 



96 NORWAY. 

It is a miniature Switzerland and as fine, except in 
altitude. A stone wall guards the edge of the 
hotel plateau and one can sit there by the hour 
and care for no more, scarcely thinking or formu- 
lating, but dreaming, feeling and enjoying. 
Directly at right angles opens another wide cradle- 
like valley with billowy heights of gray above a 
base of green forests which quite recalls the Alle- 
ghanies, as it curves out of sight. Encircling 
the hotel at a healthful distance, the mountains 
spring up and up so that we were in the heart of 
them as never before. Lifted up to this Pisgah 
height, we saw as in a vision the great solemn 
mountains around about with their abiding 
strength and comforting inspiration. So far, the 
Geiranger fjord is the finest bit of water scenery 
we have seen, the Romsdal the loveliest valley 
drive and this eyrie of Stallheim the most delight- 
ful situation. We saw it by moonlight too, and 
it was as unearthly and suggestive as a sunrise in 
the Vale of Chamouni. A week there was all too 
brief. The drive down upon the opposite side is 
very steep and ere long curves out of sight of the 
Hotel. Like all the mountain drives and fjord 
sails we were repeatedly shut into charming 
little scenes. The road lay along Lake Orpheim, 
pure as crystal and smooth as a mirror, with one 
end the great felspath mountains, gray glistening 
and desolate ; at the other, through a gap in hill 
range towered and flashed a snow-crested mountain 
some four thousand six hundred feet in height. 
This lake has a sad interest, as upon its baaka 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 97 

perished, in 1896, Mr. and Mrs. Youmans, of New 
York, to whose memory the King has erected a 
cross. In all these journeyings, picture follows 
picture so rapidly and change succeeds change so 
constantly that, when the day is done, it is a wonder 
if the mind retains more than a confused memory 
of lovely effects, grand and inspiring groupings, 
and a wilderness of exquisite colorings and grace- 
ful outlines. The road turned into a mountain 
pass, which, although nothing remarkable in its 
extent, was, with its wooded slopes, rapid foaming 
stream and its beautiful road in the depths, lovely 
enough for a day's sojourn. Later, the country 
became wilder and bolder and more unkempt. 
Great avalanches of huge boulders ; abrupt and 
precij)itous cliffs and mountains ; — the valley nar- 
rowed to a gorge or ravine ; the road was filched 
from the steep sides ; the river widened and filled 
the narrow cleft and the brawling waters plunged 
madly over enormous tumbled boulders. Like 
magic the scene changed ; the mountains stood 
farther away ; the valley widened to broadness ; 
in place of boulders and mad stream, a great, soft 
verdant, meadow-like expanse, with river flowing 
in two distinct streams, and beyond, a placid lake 
with upon its glassy surface, two or three boats 
curiously loaded with hay, rowed by men and 
women. Nothing could have been more pastoral 
or poetic or more picturesque in effect. Passing 
along a hillside with pine forests, overlooking a 
rushing stream and mill, we came, at the end of 
four hours, to Vossevangen, a pretty and irregular 
7 



96 NORWAY. 

village, with an unusually quaint ancient church 
with steep pitched roof and square tower and spire 
and a surrounding yard in which many a rude 
forefather of the hamlet sleeps. In a record of 
travel, one does not care to waste time upon hotels, 
hut there is such a general impression that journey- 
ing in Xorway is ohjectionable because of poor 
hostelries, that particular care has been taken to 
dissipate this idea. At Vossevangen is a fine and 
attractive one, much frequented by the wealthy 
Bercrenese. After dinner, our wav led bv a prettv 
a^scending woodland road, until suddenly the bot- 
tom seemed to have gone out of everything. We 
were at the end of an amphitheatre or *' cul-de- 
sac,'' and looked immediately down hundreds and 
hundreds of feet to a much broader valley. Over 
the summit poured a powerful stream in a mag- 
nificent waterfall which lower down broke into a 
cataract none the less fine. The superb road 
curved in sweeping and contracted loops all the 
way down, affording in its rapid descent and 
repeated turnings, views and effects most ex- 
citing and dehghtful. The little pony dashed 
down the steep, smooth road at a delightfully ex- 
hilarating pace, now swinging to the extreme side 
of the valley almost against the precipitous cliffs, 
then bending inwards, — now lost in a rock-hewn 
way, then in plain sight of waterfall and crossing 
the stream by bridge of stone amid showers of 
spray, and finally along the valleys course. The 
scenery for awhile was superb, for we were at the 
base of a most abrupt and precij)itous range which 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 99 

frequently rose sheer for full a thousand feet or 
more. At one point four slight waterfalls broke 
over the ridge a thousand feet above. They did 
not, as such, touch bottom, for they swayed to and 
fro in the breeze and broke into vaporous spray. 
The sunlight striking them changed them to 
trembling masses of exquisite iris, like pendant 
swaying rainbows. A little lake spread out in 
perfect placidity, and the road which followed its 
border was in some places hewn from the base of 
the gigantic cliffs. It was all very, very fine, with 
its changing effects of light and shade. At six- 
thirty, we reached Eide. Oh ! lovely Eide ! as 
Longfellow said of Interlaken, ''the sun was set- 
ting when first I beheld thee ; the sun of life will 
set ere I forget thee."' The delightful little hotel, 
with a lovely garden, with paths, shrubbery and 
rapid stream, stands near the water of an arm of 
the Hardanger Fjord and commands a view which 
that evening was perfect in its quiet peacefulness 
and finished beauty. The little fjord looks like 
a lovely, peaceful, rock-shored river. The cool 
mountain slopes, long and graceful, the grouping 
of the distant rocky barriers, the placid waters 
with vivid reflections and the long, low light dying 
over the sea, were a melody of heavenly purity and 
peace, a harmony of sweet angelic voice and sug- 
gestion. One who loves the serene, peaceful and 
meditative in Xature will find in little Norway 
many a nook and corner where the very atmos- 
phere seems mysteriously surcharged with the 
peace that passeth understanding. We turned away 



100 NORWAY. 

from it upon a glorious morning, taking a steamer 
for one of the '^ Koyal Progresses'' of Norway, 
a trip on the Hardanger Fjord. Some consider it 
the grandest of all, and surely in length and extent, 
and in lofty mountains and mighty glaciers, it 
is indeed very grand. We passed through two or 
three consecutive fjords and were charmed with 
the grace and beauty of the rocky shores. When 
we turned into the Hardanger proper, at whose 
end lies Odde, all in the full glory of sunshine and 
with background of blue sky and dazzling white 
fleecy clouds, and looked at the precipitous mount- 
ains upon one side, crested with glorious glitter- 
ing glaciers and dazzling white snow field ; upon 
the other, the great towering mountains sloping 
with such easy flow to the water's edge, giving 
generous lodgment for farms and houses and 
villages ; upon the severe and haughty grandeur 
of the mountains softened and subdued by the 
verdant stretches, we felt that nothing more beauti- 
ful had passed before us ! The glaciers in the 
sunlight displayed exquisite tints of blue, while 
the white snow-fields fairly shone. The scene 
was not desolate or solitary as in many of the 
fjords, because of the many houses, farms and 
orchards. Sundry landings are made, every one of 
which with fanciful hotel, or church spire, or 
picturesque Hardanger costumes, is a picture one 
wants to treasure. The fjord is so broad that it is 
quite unlike any other. Odde, at the end of it, is 
a rendezvous, an entrepot and a headquarters, with 
the hubbub, noise and confusion at hotels and in 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 101 

its streets, of parting and coming guests, — a charm- 
ing place completely spoiled. It is the terminus of 
the Telemarken route to Christiania, said to be 
very wild and fine. How little we dreamed of 
what was before us that blessed, perfect sunny day ! 
We drove for fifteen miles along this route and re- 
turned, seeing the great Buarbrae or glacier and 
the breathless Folgefond or snow-field, which is 
fifty miles in length and seven in width, with 
views of lake, waterfalls and wild passes that were 
bewildering. Slowly ascending the hilly road back 
of Odde, we came in fifteen minutes to a long, 
narrow lake, close to the shore of which the road 
runs, often upon walls and masonry and under 
hanging cliffs, while opposite are the lofty moun- 
tains. In an opposite lateral valley was seen the 
great Buarbrae, which flows in a mighty torrent 
from the great Folgefond snow-fields, all brilliant 
in the full sunlight with blue and dazzling white. 
Beyond the lake the valley contracts ; — the stream 
pours and plunges through a narrow, rocky 
ravine ; — the road steadily ascends, and in one 
place bends several times upon itself in loops or 
zigzags, and the higher we climbed the finer be- 
came the view of the great Folgefond ice-fields in 
the distance, which showed a solid and unbroken 
drift of pure and spotless snow. The day was so 
glorious that blue sky and those dazzling drifts 
made a picture of ineffable glory and unearthly 
brilliancy. We came upon the celebrated Lote- 
foss quite abruptly, and looked from the road in 
a cloud of spray up and up the precipitous wall. 



102 NORWAY. 

and saw pouring in two great streams a tremendous 
volume of water which broke into repeated falls and 
cascades. The shy line of these white, bounding, ex- 
ultant waters, way up to the summit against the blue, 
was marvellously lovely. As if this was not enough, 
away farther appeared the Espelands-fos or fall, 
one of the most picturesque in the country. The 
water spread out over the flattened surface like a 
mass of white lace or gossamer. The road entered 
a ravine, and by loops and rapid zigzags reached a 
level stretch where, two thousand and seventy feet 
above the sea, was Seljestad, the terminus of our 
jaunt. The return was much finer, for we were 
constantly descending. Like a panorama continu- 
ally before us was the rapturous view of the Folge- 
fond snow-fields, nplifted in sublime solitariness 
against the distant sky ; the wild but exquisite 
ravine, the mad, angry stream dashing into foam 
upon the huge boulders, the fields of huge bould- 
ers in numbers like unto a pebbly beach, the zig- 
zags with the loops below showing through the 
trees like white ribbons flying in the breeze, the 
dazzling, gorgeous waterfalls, and at last the peace- 
ful valley with verdant meadows and calm and 
placid lake. We had but few days in Norway in 
which so much that was overwhelmingly enjoyable 
was crowded, and sensible souls I — we opened every 
pore and absorbed it all ! From Odde to Bergen 
is an all-day journey by steamer, too good and too 
much for an unbroken trip. We regretted later 
that we did not break it at lovely Viking-naes, but 
in the early morning, an ominous sign in the west 



O'ER LAND AND SEA. 103 

(^^ not as deep as a well nor as wide as a church 
door/' but it served) aroused fears at that late sea- 
son of coming days of storm. All the livelong day 
we passed through fjords, often three miles in 
width, past mountains great and mountains small, 
mountains bare and mountains green, and snow- 
crested and flecked, and in sight of varied outline 
and beautiful form. It was a repetition in minia- 
ture of the panorama of the Xorth Cape cruise, 
with often the same glorious effect and wealth of 
of color. But few landings were made, only one, 
in fact, where there was a wharf. That was an 
ideal and charming village upon a large and se- 
cluded bay. A pretty hotel Avith a gay garden was 
near the water and the opposite sloping shore was 
dotted by numerous cottages. The outlook from 
Viking-naes was over a great inland sea hemmed 
in with mountains. Four hours before reaching 
Bergen we came into narrow straits and between 
great rocky gateways. It was gloriously beautiful, 
for the course lay henceforth through an immense 
archipelago. Islets and islands, some of bare 
rocks, some with little farms and pretty cottages, 
seemed like flotsam and jetsam floating u2:)on a 
broad expanse of waters. Some were a peculiar 
steel gray with, along the wMer-line, a dash of tawny 
yellow and brown ; some were green with pasture- 
land, and some brown with undergrowth. The 
sky became leaden and the wind keen and bitterly 
cold, and we lost much by the enforced staying 
within. The immediate approach to Bergen, with 
its widely scattered motley collection of store- 



104 NORWAY. 

houses, churclies, etc., in the twilight of a warm 
summer^s day, must be, in its way, as dreamy and 
weird as far-away Venice, by the warm southern 
sea. Even in the gray and the chill it was surpass- 
ingly beautiful and picturesque. 



'•' PASTURE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS/' 

BERGEX. 

It is a common jest, that " it rains in Bergen 
all the time " and the official records show that 
the annual rainfall exceeds that of Scotland or 
England. Knowing this, we were duly grateful 
for the great patches of blue and the floods of sun- 
shine which alternated with copious showers during 
our entire stay. The climate even in winter is very 
mild and the perj^etual humidity keeps a look of 
eternal freshness in foliage and verdure. Bergen 
in one sense is commonplace ; — in another so 
quaint and characteristic as to be one if not the 
most interesting large place in the country. Like 
all Norwegian towns, wood enters so largely in all 
buildings that it has been repeatedly devastated by 
fire. One portion has been handsomely rebuilt, 
and as large open spaces are left to check the 
spread of conflagrations, one frequently has a most 
picturesque view of the harbor and adjacent 
structures. At times it is as quaint, character- 
istic and national as Holland, with its queer low 
houses, gables and high-pitched red-tiled roofs. 
The city is built upon a hilly peninsula with 
plenty of water on every side as well as from above. 
The day after our arrival was tlie Sabbatli and we 
were glad to witness a Norwegian service at the 

105 



106 NORWAY. 

Cathedral, originally a monastery church with a 
\mae tower in front and one side-aisle formed by 
a "lean-to/" It was bare and rude, — a ceiling of 
wood and three stained windows at octagonal end, 
being the only ornamental features. A simple 
altar before a low reredos of arched niches with 
statuettes, had two huge candlesticks of silver, a 
pitcher, chalice and plate. The minister ap- 
peared in a straight woolen gown with tight 
sleeves and around his neck a very full white 
ruff, like a boa. He sang or intoned the service 
so sweetly, that at times it was as good as an ora- 
torio. Upon the end of the altar lay a maroon 
velvet cape or kind of chasuble with border and 
large cross of gold, and upon it laid a very full white 
surplice. At a certain time in the service, an 
official stepped up and in the presence of all the 
people put upon the minister the white surplice 
and later on, arrayed him in the velvet robe. The 
people all had |)rayer-books and were very devout 
in demeanor and hearty in their singing, in which 
much of the service consisted. The beginning 
was lovely for it was with a wild sweet melody, 
but when for ten minutes they chanted or sang in 
a minor key, the wail and monotony made nervous 
people want to fly ! The surplice and the velvet 
cape were laid aside some time before the service 
at the altar was ended. Then the minister went 
into a high pulpit at one side and in black gown 
and ruff (very suggestive of some old Eembrandt) 
held forth to the remarkably attentive audience. 
It was however, very odd, every once in awhile, to 



Borgund Church 



''PASTURE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS." 107 

see one and another stand up, as if tired with the 
long, hard sitting. 

On our way home we passed such an ancient 
and quaint aj^pearing church we stojoped to ex- 
amine it. Service was over, but preparations were 
making for a wholesale baptism and we gladly re- 
mained. Along the wall upon one side of the 
very large chancel, stood in a spelling-class row, 
the fathers and godfathers of the seven babies 
who were to be baptized. Another stiff row 
across the front of the chancel consisted of the 
mothers and the godmothers, holding the chil- 
dren. The silver bowl in the hands of a marble 
figure was opposite the men and a black-robed, 
white-ruffed figure administered the rite. In view 
of the uproarious bawl and direct refusal to be 
comforted, there could be no question as to the 
natural depravity of some of the little tots. It 
was ve^ ' droll when all was over, to see the men 
cross tuc chancel and disappear in a side room 
and the women cross to the men^s side and go into 
another room. 

A stroll in any direction reveals many a queer 
nook, characteristic warehouses and |)retty views 
of the surrounding heights and harbor, while the 
shops are most fascinating and with their Nor- 
wegian antiquities and stuffs, exquisite carved 
wood-work, quaint antique silver tankards a7id 
cups, lovely modern silver, gilt and enamel table 
adornments, beautiful furs and pretty national cos- 
tumes, are poor places for the tourist with de- 
pleted exchequer. Perhaps the most interesting 



108 NORWAY. 

part of the town is the old Hanseatic quartet. 
That ancient German league at one time domi- 
nated and controlled the entire trade of Norway 
in codfish and oils and possessed this quarter of its 
own with gates and guards to shut the rascals in, 
as well as out ! A public-spirited citizen, has 
fortunately, by preserving a suite of rooms in 
their original state and by filling them with all 
sorts of relics of that time, made a museum of in- 
tense interest. The Emperor William II. of 
Germany, recently wished to purchase the entire 
display, but the owner proudly declared it be- 
longed to Bergen. Evidently William was not 
^^Ketat c^est moi/^ for once! The front fa9ade 
has a gable and a row of small -paned windows and 
is painted in olive and dull red. The side had an 
open corridor or gallery facing a passageway, with 
cranes for hoisting barrels and goods. Master 
and men all lived in small low-ceiled rooms in the 
front of the warehouses. The first room was the 
employes" dining-hall with long low massive table 
and seats. A brass wash-basin was supported 
upon a frame and suspended from a bracket above 
was the pitcher or pot of brass. Every ware- 
house was obliged to have its own fire pumj)S, 
and one standing in this room looked as if it 
would scarcely extinguish a hearth-fire. Pewter 
tankards, weights and measures of odd descrip- 
tion, curious hanging lamps like little pans 
in which the oil was held, and from the ceiling 
pendant some dried fish two hundred years old, 
decorated the room. Every window, though, had 



*' PASTURE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS." 109 

pretty little valances of white silk. Opening 
from this was the office or counting-room, the 
largest of all and really quite pretty with its cor- 
ner cupboards of panelled wood ; its little enclosed 
office in one corner for master's desk with small, 
quaint panes of glass in front, over which was 
spindle work, similar to that now so much in 
vogue. All was painted in terra cotta and olive- 
green. Some handsome, but awkward, carved, 
high-back and embossed leather chairs furnished 
it. There were always a master, foreman and 
thirty clerks, and they all lived in common ; and 
lest some Norwegian should acquire an interest 
none were allowed to marry ! The business was 
almost exclusively in codfish and oil and with 
Spain and Italy, and the roo7ns smell yet ! Off the 
counting-room was the master's dining-room, and, 
as he ate alone, it did not need to be larger than a 
butler's pantry, wdiich it much resembled, for the 
side-walls were covered with racks for dishes. 
Opening from this was another small, unfurnished 
room the whole end of which was occuj^ied by two 
doors like a cupboard. The attendant opened 
them, displaying the master's winter bed or bunk. 
In the back was a door through which a maid 
could make the bed without entering the celibate's 
apartment ! Then we climbed upstairs by a little 
narrow, winding way and came into the master's 
private room or salon, where was a very quaint 
sofa with back like two antique chairs, several 
high-back chairs, some old carvings from their 
church two old crowns from entrance gates, a 



no NORWAY. 

small hanging wine cabinet ; a rawhide for flog- 
ging employes^ and upon the walls portraits and 
swords and in the wall, — a summer bed ! These 
shrewd old fellows had different weights and 
measures for buying and selling, which are here 
shown. A curious object was a pretty oval 
mahogany table with a large salver fastened on 
top, which was used in testing brandy. The fore- 
man's room came next, in which was a huge 
wooden bird used for a target, an immense ham- 
mered brass platter on a wooden support, used to 
receive the offertory in church, a long pole with 
embroidered velvet bag and a bell for taking up 
collections, and the queerest lanterns formerly 
used at funerals. The next was the employes' 
room, upon which little trap-doors from the 
master's and foreman's beds opened ! The clerks 
evidently had few comforts or luxuries, for the 
bunks for them were in two rows one above the 
other and two slept in a space which looked 
scarcely wide enough for one. A number of other 
curious relics were shown. It was an intensely 
interesting picture " of a day that is dead," which 
it is to bo hoped will ^'^ never come back" to Ber- 
gen again. 

A short walk along the quays brought us to an 
old fortress, in which stands the '^ Haakonshallen," 
or ancient palace of the kings. It is some six hun- 
dred years old and consists of one long large build- 
ing with steep G-othic roof, recently restored. 
The one hall, which is all there is, is a fine lofty 
apartment with open timbered roof and beautiful 



" PASTURE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS." Ill 

carved settles along the side walls ; massive fire- 
places and windows of stained glass. From the 
outer cornice we had a superb viev/ over Bergen 
and its environs. Near it stands *^ Walkendorf s 
Taarn/' or tower, of thirteenth century construc- 
tion, '' formerly a fortified tower built for the pur- 
pose of holding the Hanseatic League in check/^ 
The old German Hansa Church has most elaborately 
and curiously carved pulpit and ancient reredos of 
great interest. 

A drive of no particular interest, of three- 
quarters of an hour, brought us to the country- 
place of Mr. Gade, the American Consul, which 
would '^ hold its own " with any gentleman's estate 
in our own land. It was a cluster of beautifully 
diversified hills, all tumbled in a close mass, in fact, 
with numerous old forest trees and a perfect arbore- 
tum of all kinds of choice trees and shrubs, most 
judiciously grouped and placed, with paths in every 
direction, and upon a high j^oint a little tea-house, 
commanding a most lovely view of mountains, 
hills and smooth waters and little islands, all as cool 
and green as England. One came continually upon 
the loveliest prospects imaginable. The grounds 
were kept in the highest order and an air of re- 
fined elegance pervaded the whole demesne. Upon 
a small plateau, with steep hillside below, stands the 
little Fantoft church, removed from the interior, 
which with its surrounding balustrade and side 
mound with rude cross forms a most effective and 
dainty picture. The church is pagoda-like in 
general appearance, with gargoyles and ornaments 



112 NORWAY. 

at ends of peaks that are decidedly grotesque. It 
seems a mass of roofs, having three separate slopes 
and a cupola of boards cut like fancy shingles. 
All around it is a low open corridor. Owing to 
the almost entire absence of windows the interior 
is so dark that the rude arabesques and ancient, 
religious pictures that adorn the walls, can scarcely 
be seen. It is small, for thirty-five people would 
fill it, but considering the age in which it was 
built, the architectural design and structural feel- 
ing and sentiment seem wonderful and interesting. 
The drive back to Bergen by a different road was 
delightful, being for a long way through a hill 
country with steep banks and gorgeous mountain- 
ash trees along the way. We stopped for awhile 
at the beginning of a long descent, enraptured 
with the view of the valley, grand surrounding 
mountains and the city of Bergen and beyond, 
the waters, islands and bare mountains heights of 
the fjord. The suburbs of Bergen are extremely 
picturesque, varied and charming. The road 
gradually descended, passing numerous pretty 
villas and flower-crowded grounds, and a large 
leper hospital. We stopped at the gates of a 
cemetery which sloped towards the waters. Per- 
haps a hundred yards from them in the centre of 
a straight path or road leading to them, was a 
mass of ivy and flowers, a slender bronze or metal 
vase with a wreath of fresh flowers hanging over 
it, which marked the resting-place of '^ Ole Bull,'^ 
who seems to belong to our own land. We were 
told of the home-coming of the remains, and how 



*' PASTURE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS." 113 

the people in a multitude of small boats went out 
to give them welcome to Fatherland. 

We expected nothing from Bergen — " jiasture 
near the mountain/^ — but our cup was full to 
overflowing. The effect of the lofty bare moun- 
tains around about it, is very grand and impressive, 
and at night the twinkling of lights from the 
houses upon them is weird and uncanny. There 
is one superb drive, which climbs the side of the 
Floif jeldet, a mountain nine hundred and eighty- 
four feet in height, built in most extravagant style 
with excise moneys, which commands a mag- 
nificent view, — but the almost steady rain of our 
last day prevented our taking it, and it was rele- 
gated to that ^' next time,^^ that in the glowing 
present seems so possible to the tourist, but which, 
alas ! of tener proves a bourne to which no traveller 
returns. 
8 



ACKOSS COUNTEY BY VALDEES. 

BEKGEN" TO CHEISTIAI^IA. 
I. 

Betweei^ Bergen and Christiania one lias the 
choice of three routes — all the way by steamer ; — 
by Telemarken from Odde, the most picturesque 
portion of Norway, with mountain passes, snow 
fields, lakes and waterfalls, and scenery of wild 
grandeur and rugged magnificence, — and '^ across 
country by the Valders/^ We chose the latter, 
because of the lateness of the season and unsettled 
weather, beginning with a superb railway journey 
from Bergen, of sixty-six miles to Yossevangen, 
the road being an unusually fine piece of engineer- 
ing and costly construction. It took us four hours 
and twenty minutes to cover the distance. We 
had seen so much scenery that was fine and noble, 
and scenery that was gentle and subdued, we had 
no large expectations. How little we know the 
joy or tribulation that awaits us ! We had driven 
in carriage and stolkjaerre through the depths of 
dark, cool valleys and looked in wonder at the lofty 
enclosing walls ; had upon steamers passed through 
the fjords, which are only the valleys flooded, and 
had watched with awe and admiration the effects of 
towering, sombre, snow-flecked and sunny heights, 

114 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY V ALDERS. 115 

but now we were to go with rapid, changing pictur- 
ings ever before us, upon a prosaic, railway train, 
a rare experience in Norway. Soon after leaving 
Bergen we came into the spectacular and panoramic 
portion. Now swinging low, the road lies close to 
the water^s edge ; — anon, upon walled embank- 
ment, hugs the base of preci2:)itous cliifs and hangs 
as it were over the waters ; — again, dashes aj)par- 
ently against a hopeless front of mountains only to 
find a little aperture ; — a moment of darkness and 
again it is near and overlooking placid waters and 
opposing heights and lateral fjords, which, like ar- 
ranged or studied pictures stretch out in beauty 
inimitable for a too short moment. One is kept 
on the '^'^ qui vive'^ constantly, for effects are as 
rapidly changing as in a revolving kaleidoscope. 
Miniature fjords or bays, graceful heights, verdant 
slopes, bold precipitous mountains, fifty-five long, 
and short tunnels, along rock-bound shores, 
through projections and also the heart of the 
mountains ; enchanting surprises in view of waters 
and mountains ; sudden pictures seen through and 
framed in by ventilating shafts and the heights so 
slowly ascended, leave upon the mind a confused 
and delightful impression. At one point we 
looked away down upon a great rounded bay in 
which a large fleet of fishing-boats lay ^'as idle 
as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean." Past 
fjords and into canons of great beauty, by inland 
lakes with exquisite reflections of spires and over- 
hanging hills, and past two large factories most 
picturesquely situated, and past and through more 



116 NORWAY. 

loveliness and beauty than onr minds could grasp 
or hold, we were borne upward, until, notwith- 
standing our regret, we came to pretty Yossevangen. 
Surely we cannot soon forget those huge opposing 
walls, the grim gray pyramids, or the ravishing 
combinations of peaceful waters and sombre moun- 
tains. The night was passed at the delightful 
hotel at Vossevangen. Our route was then over 
the hills and far away to Stallheim, the ISTaerodal 
and Grudvangen, the same journey we had made in 
opposite direction a week or so before. But it is 
a way one would not regret passing a dozen times, 
for it possesses great variety. It is amusing to 
hear tourists who have just come into Norway 
say ^' the charm of this drive (whatever it may be) 
is its great variety/' whereas that is the marked 
peculiarity of the wliole land. Variety surely is 
the spice of Norwegian travel. Past the little 
lakes, and with the views of grand bare and snow- 
patched mountains we so enjoyed before, we 
drove with the new pleasure of familiarity and 
knowing what to expect ! We tarried for several 
hours at Stallheim where we met a most agreeable 
Calif ornian who remarked of the drive from Chris- 
tiania that "it was more enjoyable, than the 
Yosemite, because there were only eight miles of 
that, while this continued day after day." The 
beautiful Naerodal was overhung with clouds, and 
as we walked down the sixteen zigzags became 
sombre and impressive, but our drive to Gudvan- 
gen was exhilarating and delightful. A little 
steamer bore us away at six-thirty. The grandeur 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 117 

and sublimity of the Naerof jord and the entrance 
to it, especially when sombre with overhanging 
storm-clouds, is inexpressible. The darkness 
gathered early because of the heavy black clouds, 
and in an hour and a half we were shut in to out- 
lines only. But we were told the scenery grew 
less bold, as we passed through the fjord towards 
Laerdalsoren, a little village of eight hundred 
inhabitants, of which we saw only a multitude 
of low-lying lights, at ten o^clock. As the hotel 
was a half mile or more from the shore, we 
took a stolkjaerre and plunged at once into the 
worse than Egyptian darkness. The blackness 
was so intense nothing was distinguishable, yet 
the little pony dashed along at a break-neck pace 
as if '^ possessed.'" It was not quieting to the 
nerves nor was it exactly comfortable, but it is 
never prudent to interfere with either man or 
beast in this country. The drivers do not seem to 
control the horse by the lines, but by a low con- 
fidential talking with him. Every accident or mis- 
hap of which we have heard has been the result 
of the tourist taking the reins. We knew both 
horse and driver were familiar with the road, but 
the frequent jolts and the fearful speed suggested 
constantly the possibility of an upset. The drivers 
have a droll way at the end of a journey of 
taking off the hat, bowing very soberly and then 
shaking hands ! The heavy rain broke upon us, 
soon after the hotel was reached. Eight o'clock 
the next morning saw us upon our winding way 
across country. It proved a fitful day of cloud. 



118 NORWAY. 

snnsliine and occasional mist. Our way was 
througli the Laerdal, close to a little river all the 
day long. For two hours we were in the bed of a 
wide fertile valley, but constantly ascending, with 
the great lofty mountain ranges on either side like 
bounding, swelling billows. Occasionally a little 
poor hamlet and all along the way, well tilled 
farms. The details of the scene were simple, the 
effect grand and impressive. The valley narrowed 
suddenly and for awhile we threaded a tortuous 
canon which in turn became a deep ravine and 
then a narrow gorge with great abrupt frowning 
heights close to and above us, with scarcely room 
even for the tumultuous river. In fact, the road 
was cut out from the rock face and filched from 
the river bed. Sometimes close to the water's 
edge, then twenty to forty feet above, looking 
down into a chasm in which the waters held high 
carnival and often under great masses of project- 
ing rock. The river was such a succession of 
cataracts, cascades, waterfalls and rapids it almost 
wearied with the ceaseless motion and the unbroken 
beauty of green waters, dazzling foam and moss- 
covered boulders and rocks. The course was so 
circuitous that every moment gave some novel and 
startling effect. The narrow ravine or canon was 
often overwhelming with its dark and solemn still- 
ness. 

The present road is a magnificent one. The old 
one can be traced as it mounts fearful heights and 
as suddenly dips into low places or hollows. As 
we neared Borgund at midday the ravine became 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 119^ 

iiftpressively grand, exquisitely romantic and sur- 
passingly beautiful, for it was not only bold but 
narrow, picturesque but sombre, and the road was 
carried along the bank some two hundred feet 
above the stream as it passed through the crevice 
and broke into cascades and waterfalls over enor- 
mous boulders and against the face of lofty preci- 
pices. Just beyond an abrupt turning of canon, 
stream and road, stood the very picturesque, an- 
cient " Stave ^' church, built in 1138, very similar 
to the one at Fantoft, near Bergen, but not in as 
good preservation. It is black and battered, sur- 
rounded by a yard with humble graves and a rude 
stone wall. To one side without the walled enclos- 
ure stands a heavy massive belfry with an antique 
bell inscribed " Sanctus Laurencius.^^ The people 
built a new one near by, which suffers in pictur- 
esqueness beside this remnant of other days, and 
sold the old one to a Historical Society in Chris- 
tiania. We rested some two hours at a wayside 
Inn. Like every square yard of Norway there was 
much to fascinate and please, but we contented 
ourselves in watching the river in its mad and 
tumultuous plunging through the deep ravine. A 
family were coming down from a '^^saeter^^ (a 
mountain summer farm) with loads of churns, cans 
and household wares, and driving a herd of beau- 
tiful light-colored and mottled cows. As they 
wound down the elevated roadway, the scene was 
charming and would have made a lovely sketch. 
Not infrequently through the country are seen, 
high in air, coming from some " saeter " beyond a 



120 NORWAY. 

hill-top, wires upon which fagots of brush or farm 
or dairy produce, are sent to the valley below. 
Some one has facetiously declared, '^^the potato is 
the national herry of Norway ! '' and surely one is 
often reminded of it. Were it not so pathetic, it 
would be as amusing as it is interesting, to note 
the universal cultivation of the beneficent tuber iu 
very small ways and in the most unlikely spots. 
Scarce a hut is passed that has not in its immediate 
environment a tiny stretch of it. The high water 
mark was reached however one day when close to 
the roadway, upon the top of a huge boulder, ap- 
peared a flourishing miniature patch, only a few 
feet square. The people labor hard in every way, 
receiving at best apparently small returns, yet they 
seem loth to leave their rugged country. For three 
hours in the afternoon the road constantly as- 
cended and the scene grew more and more wild 
and bleak. We were in the very midst of the great 
mountains with waterfalls and rushing stream and 
for the last two or three miles upon a regular 
switch-back road. At five o^clock we reached 
" Maristuen," a large hotel all alone, way up in the 
mountain billows, without a sign of life in any 
direction, with a grand view, sedate and subdued, 
over a wide expanse of hills with outlines soft and 
billowy as a sea. The location is a favorite one and 
is considered very healthful, and the hotel, a fine 
and imposing one, is very popular. To one side it 
looks down into a basin of a valley with long slop- 
ing lines of mountains beyond, while on the other, 
p. ravine opens with the ever-fascinating and beau- 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 131 

tiful mountain stream. The elevation is but 
twenty-five hundred and seventy-five feet, but one 
is as alone as regards the world and its busy life as 
if ten thousand. It was bitter cold, the great black 
clouds seemed full of snow and the sky, although 
glowing, was chilly and cheerless, and we were glad 
to get by a fire that thirtieth day of August. The 
next day was blustery, with occasional rain, but 
not enough to obstruct our view. The way was 
fine, leading higher and higher, betwixt and 
in sight of bare, desolate mountains and across 
the Fillef jeld, all of it grand in its loneliness and 
lovely in its easy, graceful outline. At half-past 
ten we reached Nystuen, which is only a good- 
sized hotel, facing one of the numerous little lakes 
which are so curiously tucked away upon these 
mountain passes. All along the post-roads of 
Norway are stations where horses and vehicles 
have to be changed unless you have engaged a 
conveyance through, and even then certain rests 
are obligatory. We would have been obliged to 
have made fifteen changes between Laerdalsoren 
and Odnaes, had we not engaged our man and 
stolkjaerre at the start. Some three miles beyond, 
just as we came in sight of one of the lengtliy 
magnificent valleys (to which we descended later 
in the day), we turned abruptly away and by a 
superb road constructed by the Government and 
the Norwegian Tourist Club, began a climb to 
Lake Tyen, thirty-six hundred and twenty feet 
above the sea. The road was charming, smooth 
as a park-drive, with the outside boulder battle- 



123 NORWAY. 

ments so common here, and hugged and clung to 
the very face of the huge steep mountain-sides 
and gradually crept up and around every outline 
of rock, by a way often excavated from its face^ 
Often, as you drive along the country, the only 
evidence of a road ahead and above are the long 
rows of blocks, like parapets, breaking with their 
order and continuous line the utter wildness of the 
scene. In many a view it is the only touch of man 
visible. This road was peculiarly fine, for it over- 
looked at first, for miles and miles, the long pictur- 
esque valley with the white road waving through 
its dark depths of verdure, and then it turned into, 
or, rather, followed a depression in the mountain- 
face and looked down into a deep ravine and 
across upon timberless and moss-covered heights, 
and then up and up, bending, turning, and climb- 
ing slowly, and then turned into the narrow Jotum- 
parten Pass, which in a brief time ends at Lake 
Tyen, a beautiful sheet of water some seven miles 
long. Even in this out-of-the-way place, a little 
hotel, a very cheap affair, received us most hospita- 
bly and ministered most acceptably to our wants. 
At the oppo_site end of the lake is the panorama of 
the snow-clad Jotumheim, called the finest in 
Norway. Alas ! in that hour clouds lay heavily 
upon the mountain-tops and storms repeatedly 
broke over them. We could see the snow-flecked 
base, but at no time was the horizon-line visible. 
A picture of it hung in the waiting-room to tanta- 
lize and distress, for really, those who lost the 
view would be better oS not to know what they 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 123 

had missed. But we sat by the windows and saw 
that which the fine-weather guests do not see, 
several successive rainbows against the clouds 
and snow-flecked heights, which were exquisite. 
We hoped to have a row upon the lake and a 
climb to a knoll which commands the whole superb 
view, but it was useless to attempt either. So, 
after dinner, we took the advice of the hotel 
people and pushed on. The drive down was jolly, 
for the road was so fine, the view so magnificent 
and the cool, clear air so bracing. They drive 
down tlie inclines and zigzags at a fearful speed 
which is exciting and exhilarating, but- one can- 
not help feeling that if the wheel should fly 
off or the breeching break, it would hardly be 
worth while to attempt to pick up the pieces, 
either of man, brute, or vehicle. All the afternoon 
the road descended in a prolonged valley with 
everything in the way of view we could desire, 
lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and combinations of 
them all. It was a continuous procession of all 
that is beautiful in nature. We came into the 
luxuriant growth of evergreens again, so tliat the 
mountain-sides were no longer cold, desolate, and 
gray, nor bare or bleak, but dark and verdant with 
the tint of fir trees. Fifteen hundred feet below, 
we came to the station, where we would have 
passed the night, had not Lake Tyen been shrouded 
with clouds. At five o'clock we reached Grinda- 
heim on the border of a little lake with a fine out- 
look upon the abrupt ending of two or three 
mountain ranges. We decided to push on an 



134 ^ NORWAY. 

hour farther, for the finest bit of the route was 
just beyond and the clouding, kirid west suggested 
a rainy morrow. It was superb ! All the way 
the scenery was wonderful and grand. For a 
long way the road was excavated from the faces of 
rugged and almost sheer cliffs and by zigzags 
followed every variation of the shore line of the 
lake, so that it was a continuous dipping into little 
coves or rounding of sharp points, often beneath 
semi-arches, and in one place beneath a shed roof, 
to shelter passers-by from falling stones or debris, 
loosened by trickling streams from the heights 
above. The road is called the ^''Kvamskleven^' 
or " ravine cliff." Perhaps there was a half- 
liour of this, but the whole drive along the lake 
and the view of opposite mountain ranges was 
fine, and in the gathering twilight it grew oppres- 
sively grand and sublime. Our day^s journeying 
ended at Oylo, a solitary hotel upon the side hill, 
a few hundred yards above the highway command- 
ing a finished outlook upon mountains, woods, and 
waters which, in the fading twilight and the 
solemn shadows, was inexpressibly quieting and 
restful to our tired bodies, excited nerves and 
wearied souls, for one learns in Norway that 
pleasure wearies, as well as ceaseless toil and un- 
ending activity. 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 

BERGEN- TO CHEISTIAi^^IA. 
II. 

Oylo is a favorite resort of Norwegian artists. 
We did not wonder at this when we saw how 
crowded the immediate neighborhood was with 
ravishing and enchanting pictures. Upon the 
wooden walls of one of our rooms were painted, 
much as etchings are marked, sundry mementos 
of various artists, which were amusing and inter- 
esting. One was a large key hanging upon a nail ; 
another a watch and chain, still another a leaf of 
paper with dog-eared corners, and a miniature, all 
so perfect as to deceive even at close range. The 
apartment itself was a sight, for, although occupied 
by an immense sofa, huge centre tables, three 
candle-stands, and bedsteads and several chairs, 
there was room and to spare ! In the hall stood a 
most quaint and gorgeous linen trousseau chest, 
with showy arabesque of gay colored flowers and 
ornaments, a woman's name and a date. A party 
of Germans came in after us, so that the evening 
was quite merry, as the landlady lighted a fire in 
the queer fireplace, which they call, as if spelled, 
" pi-es." The chimney was square and in the 
corner, with fireplace open on two sides and the 

125 



126 NORWAY. 

wood piled in the corner without fire-dogs of any 
kind. 

As we all sat there, in the light only of the 
flaming logs and glowing embers, it seemed strange 
that the ^' Tales of a Wayside Inn^"* were not writ- 
ten long before Longfellow^s day. What would 
our stories have been, had we from over the sea 
and fatherland, in that weird and flickering light, 
each told one ? But Oylo soon faded out of sight 
when we began our journey anew. We passed a 
magnificent waterfall or cataract and followed the 
river, and some two and a half hours away, when 
nearing Lohen, a station beautifully situated upon 
a knoll overlooking the most picturesque Slidre- 
f jord, or lake, had another fine bit of road along 
the mountain-face. We also passed a most pict- 
uresque, ancient church. The almost entire ab- 
sence of windows is a marked feature of these old 
churches. One we passed that day had none in 
front or upon one side. From the heights above 
Lohen was gained a superb view of the fjord or 
lake and the mountains we were rapidly leaving 
behind, all spotted with snow. Indeed, there 
was hardly a rod but deserved notice ! One is 
simjDly overwhelmed with natural beauty in Nor- 
way, for there is such an inexhaustible store upon 
every side. About three o'clock we rested the 
faithful little pony and enjoyed some recreation 
ourselves, at Fosheim, where was a fine and large 
hotel down in a hollow, but with a lovely outlook. 
How many little heavens we did come into ! At 
many a place we sang " My willing soul would 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 127 

stay/' with much gusto and longing. Then down 
the hill and along the valley, having a grand view 
of the distant Jotumheim which was so obscured 
when we watched for it at midday at Lake Tyen, 
until at five o'clock we came to lovely Faegerness. 
The near approach to it was extremely pictur- 
esque, for, from the descending road, as it made a 
sweeping curve, we looked down upon a lovely 
sheet of placid water with an island and bold pro- 
jecting points thickly wooded, and nestling in the 
trees of pretty grounds, two white hotels with 
brilliant national flags waving, and a little way 
farther on the road, from a bridge, upon a group 
of dark and blackened saw and flour mills, stone 
flumes and a boisterous cataract of water tumbling 
over a very rocky bed. Faegerness is a settlement 
of only two hotels, a shop and a few houses for 
working people, but its location is ideal, close to 
the water's edge. Our windows looked upon pretty, 
lawn-covered grounds which sloped to the water, 
and upon a summer-house and dainty flower 
borders. Beyond, a stone causeway and foot- 
bridge led to a densely- wooded island with charm- 
ing walks, with numerous seats and resting-places. 
The season being about closed, there were but few 
guests and scarcely any tourists, so the pretty 
little place which, at other times, must be in the per- 
petual hubbub of speeding the parting and welcom- 
ing the coming guests, was, in every line and out- 
look, the embodiment of charming restfulness and 
delicious repose. Our Sabbath there was perfect, 
warm and sunny and the placid glistening waters 



138 NORWAY. 

and the dainty points and islands seemed like 
some sheltered cove at Lake G-eorge. The distant 
view along the length of a sheltered valley closing 
with a portal of bold and abrupt mountains was 
exquisitely beautiful^ with grace in every line and 
beauty in the multitude of soft colorings. After 
the rain and the cold of the last few days, the 
warm sunny Sabbath was a real benediction and 
we enjoyed every moment. But at five o^clock 
the next morning the rain was falling in torrents ! 
At eight-thirty, there was plenty of blue sky, sun- 
shine and clouds, but it was so charming we were 
glad to be " on the go.^^ For a few hours our way 
lay along the valley with nothing particularly 
striking, although all was beautiful in every direc- 
tion, and then the road began a gradual ascent of 
the mountain-side by a course cut from it. "We 
walked for an hour for the sheer pleasure of it, 
the ascent was so gentle, stopping frequently to 
enjoy the views. The beautiful smooth road rises 
and bends with every projecting spur, affording 
many a charming view of the valley, the scene 
ending clear beyond Faegerness with the white- 
tipped Jotumheim Mountains. Up and up we 
plodded gradually for an hour or more, then 
rounding a spur of the hills left the charming 
Valders valley, with its evergreen thickets and 
little river behind. Soon we reached the summit, 
a long plateau or level country, with two or three 
little lakes or pools, scanty verdure and dwarfed 
tree growth. Across this wild and desolate up- 
land stretch the white road wriggled like a serpent. 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 139 

and then, into evergreen forests that were charm- 
ing. Down and down we whirled by curves and 
long winding stretches, that were park-like in 
effect and beauty. The whole descent for an hour 
and a half was by a superb roadway, through the 
thickest of dark and fragrant evergreens, with 
snatches and views of the valley below, lovely in 
its billowy lines and verdant tints. At an eleva- 
tion of two thousand feet, stands Tonsaasen Sani- 
tarium, a popular resort of the Christiania people^ 
a group of fine large buildings beautifully located, 
with here and there in the adjacent woods, paths 
leading to summer houses and outlooks, not unlike 
Lake Mohonk. The air, which is resinous with 
odor of firs and balsams, is considered extremely 
healthful. Two miles farther on is Sveen, a post- 
ing station, the descent to which was by curves, 
zigzags and loops through the lovely woods, which 
earlier in our experience would have seemed won- 
derfully beautiful. The remainder of the after- 
noon until we reached Odnaes at six-thirty, was a 
gradual ^' come down " in every way. While it 
was charming all the way, it grew lower and more 
cultivated and sublunary and we realized that the 
end was near, and that these few remaining hours, 
were our " Good-bye ! Summer." It was, however, 
less difficult to accept than it would have been 
earlier in the season. The whole drive from Laer- 
dalsoren of one hundred and forty-six miles was 
delightful and in its variety wonderful, and in 
spite of clouds, rain, and cold, we were sorry to 
have it end. Odnaes is a hamlet with a fairly com- 
9 



130 NORWAY. 

fortable hotels, at the head of Randsfjord Lake, 
and was the closing scene of our drive across 
country. We tarried there for a night, and at 
seven-thirty on the morrow took the steamer which 
in five hours, after making some ten landings, 
traverses the length of Randsfjord Lake. The 
scenery seemed very mild and subdued, with long 
sloping heavily wooded or farm-covered hills on 
every side. Snow and the great mountains were 
a thing of the past ! All was peaceful and smil- 
ing as if storms were o^er. At the Randsfjord end 
of the lake, the lumber interest loomed up, thou- 
sands of logs and a sort of raft being collected 
there through which a channel was kept open for 
the steamer. A wait of three-quarters of an hour 
and then we boarded the railway train for Chris- 
tiania, some eighty-eight miles away, a journey of 
five and a half hours. Oh ! what a beautiful rail- 
way journey it was ! We passed through enough 
beautiful country to satisfy one for a summer^s 
tour. All so verdant, highly cultivated and pros- 
perous in appearance, while hills, mountains, 
waterfalls, rivers and pretty villages were every- 
where visible. At Hone-foss, we had a pretty 
view of the falls and in several places saw the great 
logs shoot the cataracts and rapids. Drammen 
was the largest place on the route and was most 
picturesquely divided into two or three towns by 
the waters of a fjord. After leaving, the road 
mounts a hillside and looking back, we had a 
magnificent view of the town glittering and bask- 
ing in the sunlight, in the midst of sparkling 



ACROSS COUNTRY BY VALDERS. 131 

waters. It was indeed a wonderful scene, and 
fitly closed our list of Norwegian pictures upon 
memory's walls, never to be quite forgotten. 

At seven-thirty p. M. we entered Christiania, 
which Ave had left a few short weeks before, so full 
of hopefulness, in a pouring rain, and our halcyon 
days in Norway were ended. 

4: 4: 4: ^ 4: 4: 

A party sat one winter evening around an open 
fire in Eome, the Eternal City, talking in the 
desultory way that is the traveller's wont, of 
various masterj^ieces of the old artists in which 
Italy is so rich. From one to another the com- 
ments, critical but appreciative, flowed in easy 
course, until at last attention was centred upon 
the Beatrice Oenci of Guido Reni, by a young 
gentleman remarking he could never see anything 
in it, either in engravings or copies, and now, in 
the original. Said a lady, '^ But do you not think 
the expression, — the look in the eyes, — is wonder- 
ful ? '' No ! " he replied, '' I can see nothing in 
them ! " to which she gently responded, '^ Per- 
haps it is not for you ! " 

Perchance some one may peruse these pages 
who has made the tour of Norway and not pos- 
sessed of a keen love of Nature in her varied 
moods, nor an eye sensitive to delicacy of color 
and gracefulness of outline, nor a heart responsive 
to the numberless, spiritual and poetic suggestions 
of land and sea ; or perhaps some other one read- 
ing them may be led to make the journey and not 
being in the mood to be always pleased, may 



133 NORWAY. 

think or pronounce this record of a trip, which 
even with the oft-repeated limitations of storm and 
disappointment, was a joyous and delightful one, 
overdrawn, or too enthusiastic or too highly ro- 
seate. To such, sadly and kindly, I would say, 
it is all there, nevertheless ; — and as the lady 
remarked of those wondrous, appealing, haunt- 
ingly beautiful eyes of the pathetic Beatrice Cenci, 
^'perhaps it is not for you." 



HALCYON DAYS 

IN 

FRANCE. 



HALCYON DAYS IN FEANCE. 



PATIENT WAITmG, NO LOSS. 

ROUEi^". 

Because Ronen is only about three and a half 
hours from Paris, and on the direct line of north- 
ern travel, and comparatively easy to reach, it is 
the oftener relegated to that halcyon '' next time," 
with which every tourist comforts himself when 
too wearied or hard-pressed for time to do more. 
Yet scarcely any other city in France, so opulent 
in historical associations and architectural trophies, 
yields more rich returns in ecclesiastical and civic 
structures and picturesque streets, while none 
have a more pathetic feature than the spot where 
Jeanne d'Arc went up in a cloud of fire. We had 
so repeatedly left it undone, that our departure 
finally seemed very unreal. The day was warm 
and sunny. Although the country proved monot- 
onous, being much of the way very level, with 
sometimes a horizon of hills, yet with the little, 
silvery Seine with bushy banks, — pretty hay and 
harvest fields, forests with first touch of autumn 
like a burnishing of gold, quaint thatched and red- 

roo.fed hamlets, frequent chateaux almost buried 

135 



136 FRANCE. 

in the trees^ and towns and villages of considerable 
importance, — there was much to interest and to 
please. For a long way from Paris the neatly en- 
closed vineyards and opulent fruit and flower-gar- 
dens with stone walls covered with pear and other 
fruit-trees trained like vines, seemed almost con- 
tinuous. Occasionally a long, sweeping view over 
a slightly undulating country, with forests and 
chateaux, would stretch out in soft and dreamy 
beauty as far as eye could reach. 

At Mantes we had a most exquisite view over 
the river, upon the group of houses above which 
waved the huge, lofty openwork, square towers of 
its cathedral, and beyond, the isolated solitary 
tower of St, Maclou, the only remains of an ancient 
church (1344) built with " the toll dues exacted 
for leave to tow barges through the bridge on 
Sundays and holidays ! " Our faithful book com- 
panion told us that ^^ it was among the glowing 
embers of its houses and monasteries, which Wil- 
liam the Conqueror had caused to be burned, that 
he received the injury in his corpulent person 
caused by his horse starting, which proved mortal 
a few days later at Eouen ! " As we were to fol- 
low the course of his Majesty, even to the place 
of his final strange sepulture, it possessed more 
than a passing interest. We knew Eouen (as it is 
called the Manchester of France) was a busy manu- 
facturing town, full of bustling life in spite of its 
venerable and stately antiquities, but we were 
not prepared for the crowd and babel of sounds 
which filled and surrounded the station. There 



PATIENT WAITING, NO LOSS. 137 

was a delay of some twenty minutes for a customs' 
examination, which, however, was not insisted upon 
with us, since our innocent-looking luggage sug- 
gested no violation of the game octroi. A civil 
porter assured us the Hotel de la Poste was near and 
that we did not need a fiacre, so we followed and fol- 
lowed him and our truck of luggage for full ten min- 
utes. But as our course was through the principal 
street and past numerous shops, bright, pretty and 
attractive, as the French know so well how to make 
them, we rather enjoyed it. It was too late to 
drive and the ^^ show places" were closed, so we 
strolled out for a general reconnoitre. It was not 
many minutes before we were fairly effervescing 
with delight, for almost immediately we came upon 
some quaint fa9ades and then in full sight of the 
Palais de Justice. One glance at the picturesque 
and ornate structure and Ave were back in Belgium, 
the Low Countries — the Netherlands. It is built 
around three sides of a square, a tall iron fence- 
lining or marking the fourth and front boundary, 
with a riot of ornament and an exuberance of ex- 
quisite detail, most effective, although condemned 
by professional critics. Tall dormer windows adorn 
the roof and furnish, as it were, an excuse or founda- 
tion for sculpturings and adornments in most prod- 
igal profusion. Statues of various sizes crown del- 
icate pinnacles ; borders of floral design garland 
the Tudor windows, and a regular open rose fret- 
work follows the line of cornice. It is but one 
story with a high basement, but the pitched roof 
with open cresting adds as much again to its height 



138 FRANCE. 

and gives fine field for spectacular and ornamental 
effects. In the centre of the front fa9ade projects 
a beautiful tower-like bay window with most ornate 
effect^ forming within a lovely^ circular room with 
domed roof, designed for use of Francis I., but now 
a retiring room for the judges of the court. Steps 
of stone ascend to the side wings and various apart- 
ments, and some three spacious court rooms, with 
ricJily carved and gilded ceilings, one formerly the 
Parliament Hall, are shown. The City streets 
make many a picturesque and interesting vista. 
Sometimes they bend and curve, and quaint odd 
facades of open timber and plaster work, with each 
story projecting over the one below with carved 
brackets for support and queer ornaments, appear 
on either side. As we passed purposelessly along, 
at the end of a narrow street, weird and spectral 
in the late afternoon light, loomed up an ornate 
Gothic tower. A few moments later we stood in 
an open plaza opposite the great Cathedral of 
Rouen. Alas ! time and the elements have played 
sad havoc with the tiny, dainty statuettes, — the 
delicate embroidery-like sculpturings and the 
lavish abundance of superb ornamentation with 
which the two towers and west fa9ade are loaded. 
Because of the decay and deterioration of the 
stone, it is like some beautiful frost or icework 
which has already begun to melt and lose form and 
distinctness under the warmth and glow of the 
sun's rays. It is said that originally it was ''the 
best and purest type of early Gothic work " but 
that in the sixteenth century it was embossed and 



PATIENT WAITING, NO LOSS. 139 

overloaded with ornamentation. One looks with 
wonder at the abundance and endlessness of the 
minute, exquisite and tiny sculpturings. The 
smoke of centuries lies upon the carven surface, 
with weird effect of strikingly high lights and 
sharp contrasting ebon shadows. One tower is 
massive, comparatively plain and finished with a 
wedge or peaked roof, while the other, called the 
'^ Butter Tower," '^ because built with the money 
paid for dispensations to eat butter in Lent," 
rises to a much greater height and is finished with 
octagonal story and open parapet or cresting, with 
exquisite window openings and ornaments. Over 
the intersection of nave and transepts, rises a 
very slender open work and incongruous tower of 
iron to a height of four hundred and eighty-two 
feet. The north and south portals are singu- 
larly elegant and tasteful in their rich designs and 
abundance of medallion heads and sculpturings. 
The view of sides and rear, with wretched build- 
ings huddling against the consecrated walls, great 
flying buttresses, numerous pinnacles, and several 
smaller beautiful towers, is peculiarly varied, 
jumbled and picturesque. But the front view is ex- 
quisite, — it is a joy to look upon these grand arch- 
itectural forms tossed high in air, for one knows 
and feels each detail, each ornament, each leaping 
outline, is some one's thought expressed in stone 
which mingles a strange reverence and awe with 
the delight experienced. Streit, the English writer 
and lecturer, says of this noble pile, for '^ perfect 
beauty of plan and poetical inspiration of design. 



140 FRANCE. 

I think Rouen goes near to excelling all/' 
(meaning Chartres, Notre Dame, Amiens, and 
Rheims). We stepped within and for a while 
wandered according to our own sweet will in the dim 
religious light and the hallowing shadows, seeing 
the lovely vistas of clustered columns and graceful 
arches, — the soft rich coloring of the ancient win- 
dows and the exquisite groupings from various 
points and angles, with here and there along the 
aisles or in minor chapels, occasional flaring or 
flickering lights. One turns from such visitation 
with a hushed and subdued feeling as if for the 
nonce in presence of holy things and heavenly 
visitants. The next day we " did it,'^ making a 
dutiful examination of every nook and cranny 
with unfaltering interest. Shall I say there is one 
beautiful sweep of clustered columns and arches 
stretching away some four hundred and thirty- 
five feet with a rise of ninety ? It carries no idea 
of the combined effect of fretted stone, rich sculp- 
turings or mellow toned glass. These old struc- 
tures are not inanimate, — they pulse, they breathe, 
they speak to something within, not yet free, and 
one feels the vibration of the thrill long after- 
wards and perhaps in some form or other, forever ! 
The Choir has massive round instead of clustered 
columns, back of which is an aisle or corridor in 
which lie the tombs of Richard Ooeur de Lion and 
his brother. They are modern reproductions, for 
the Huguenots hopelessly defaced the originals. 
The '*^ Lion-hearted" bequeathed his heart to 
Rouen, and after several changes of base, the 



PATIENT WAITING, NO LOSS. 141 

Verger assured us, it now lies beneath the recum- 
bent effigy. Directly in rear of Choir is the Lady 
Chapel with several enormous tombs which, be- 
cause of delicate and exquisite carving of lovely 
conventionalized ornaments, flowers, tiny statues 
and intricate traceries, are magnificent as well as 
marvellous. 

In our round of sightseeing we stopped at St. 
Maclou, a small but extremely beautiful church of 
the fifteenth century with a most jieculiar porch 
and a facade elaborately sculptured and ornamented. 
The interior has a beautiful lantern tower, much 
rococo ornamentation and, as in several of the 
Eouen churches, a wealth of painted glass. With 
its unique open-work staircase ascending to organ 
loft, richly carved doors and lovely cupola, it is 
most fascinating, and the front fa9ade is one of 
the most charming sights of the city. How many 
lovely groupings we saw against the warm blue 
sky and through the soft hazy atmosphere those 
ideal days ! Standing in the great oj^en Place de 
la Hotel de Ville, the scene was superb. Over 
the roofs of the houses trembled in the hazy air 
the towers and turrets of the cathedral, soft and 
tender as a vision. The massive pile of the Hotel 
de Ville y looks upon an equestrian statue in bronze 
of Napoleon I. Glimj^ses of quaint old buildings 
are had on every side. But alone in the Square, 
or Place, almost entirely surrounded by open space, 
stands, in peerless beauty, the wonderful pile of 
St. Ouen ! How strangely to us the record reads 
of the first stone being laid 1318 and the structure,^ 



142 FRANCE. 

following a single plan, being completed at the end 
of the fifteenth century ! The Huguenots are 
said to have made three bonfires within its walls, 
the material of which was the organ, the choir- 
stalls and the pulpit, — and the Revolutionists 
turned it into an armorer's or blacksmith^s shop. 
Little suggestion, however, of all this sacrilege 
remains, for judicious restorations give it a look 
of eternal serenity and quiet. The west end, to- 
wards the Place, has elaborately carved portals, 
and at each corner a lofty tower and spire pierc- 
ing the azure two hundred and eighty-two feet 
from the earth. To about one half of one side, 
and to the rear, is a beautiful public garden laid 
out with serpentine walks, little avenues of trees, 
fountains and gorgeous flower borders. From 
this lovely enclosure one sees the entire structure 
in all its wondrous beauty. Against the blue sky 
appears a forest of stately pinnacles or turrets, 
open carved balustrades, huge flying buttresses, a 
long line of pointed Gothic windows ; — beyond, 
the graceful, open, modern, spires, while over the 
intersection of the transept and nave rises a grand 
central tower, stately in effect, exquisitely beauti- 
ful in detail, with four crowned turrets around 
an octagonal upper story, which terminates in a 
graceful gallery appropriately called " the Crown 
of ISTormandy.^' It is as graceful as frost-work, yet 
as massive as if designed to endure forever. We 
thought of the " Close'' so often seen surround- 
ing the English cathedrals, so peaceful, so still, so 
in accord with the solemn and sombre piles, as we 



PATIENT WAITING, NO LOSS. 143 

looked at this garden so secular in tone and ap- 
pearance. Yet the old minster seemed joyous 
and triumphant in this lovely environment. This 
great open square of a busy city and this lovely 
pleasure-garden surrounding the stately and majes- 
tic temple are in perfect harmony. The Church 
surely is in the World (where it should be), lifting 
its healthful silent testimony of man's need of 
God and the wondrous love of the Divine for 
man, above all its care, turmoil and frivolity. The 
majestic pile from the garden at moonlight pre- 
sents a picture holy in its suggestion, entrancing 
in its beauty, and quieting in its enduring strength. 
The interior fairly paralyzes with admiration and 
delight. It is called a ^^iece of architectural 
daring, in that the columns and arches are so 
slender, and the side walls and clerestory a line 
of almost continuous windows, giving the appear- 
ance of apparently insufficient support for such an 
immense structure. Usually the walls and 
columns are ponderous and massive, and give an im- 
pression of tremendous strength. But this is as 
airy and graceful, as delicate and refined, as a tem- 
porary work. Usually, too, they appear like a 
dogma or doctrine, too heavy and too well estab- 
lished to be misplaced or shaken, but this has all 
the exuberance and lightness of a happy and 
triumphant song. As one enters the western 
portal what a vision of loveliness lies before him ! 
The nave, symmetrical and harmonious, stretches 
out a distance of four hundred and fifty-three 
feet ; the slender columns along its length, rise 



144 FRANCE. 

upon either side like beautiful pines or palms ; 
above them the tall open trif orium gallery is faced 
by exquisite Gothic screen-work, while higher 
still, the clerestory windows and the arched 
roof, like meeting and interlacing palm branches, 
appear in bewildering succession. Through the 
arches gleam the rich stained-glass windows of 
the aisles. Exquisite wrought iron gates open into 
the choir. Around the choir is a row of small 
chapels hung with ancient tapestries and swing- 
ing golden-lamps. We sat for awhile upon the 
steps of the high altar looking at the picture 
made by the lantern tower and the exquisite vista 
of the nave. Oh ! that wonderful forest of slen- 
der columns with light from clerestory windows 
falling in bars of soft color or flecks of gold just 
as the sunlight often tingles through the woods, — 
with the great organ and wheel window at the end ! 
So still and tranquil was the place, so glorious and 
mystical the flecks of light upon the uplifted 
stone, that it seemed like beauty, grace, adoration 
and worship suddenly arrested and forever fixed 
in enduring adamant. One instinctively pictures 
it hung with velvet and regal trappings and crowded 
with the beauty and chivalry of France, as upon 
the coronations days it has witnessed. We asked 
ourselves, '^ Does one forget all he has seen when 
he feels in many respects, this is the most beauti- 
ful interior in the world ? " Surely we can never 
forget the joyous impression of grace and beauty 
it made upon our minds. It was worth all the 
rest of Rouen. Other sights there were, interest- 



PATIENT WAITING, NO LOSS. 145 

ing and beautiful. St. Laurents we found to be a 
most picturesque, badly decayed fifteenth century 
pile (now a powder magazine) with a superb florid 
openwork tower, — a row of little side chapels with 
droll extinguisher roofs and a balustrade along the 
cornice formed of letters, like Burgos Cathedral. 
St. Patricia's, St. Godard's and St. Vincent's were 
profuse with rich painted glass, which gave the 
interiors a crazy quilt appearance. The tower of 
St. Andre, all that remains of an old church, 
stands most effectively in an open garden, upon 
which fronts a very fine antique-carved-front 
wooden house with projecting stories, said to be 
the house of Diane de Poitiers. The exact spot 
where Jeanne d'Arc was burned is now covered by 
a theatre, but near by in the " Place de la Pucelle " 
is a fountain and statue to her memory. Satu- 
rated as Eouen is with the story of the Domremy 
Maid, it seems strange there is nothing more appro- 
priate within the limits of the town, although at 
'^Bon Secours," in the suburbs, is a most elaborate 
temple and statue. Facing the Place Pucelle is a 
most interesting structure of the fifteenth century, 
the Hotel du Bourgtheroulde, built around an open 
court with walls ornamented with a wainscoting 
of marble reliefs representing the meeting of Henry 
VIII. and Francis I. upon the field of the Cloth of 
Gold. In one corner is an exquisite hexagonal 
tower, covered with carvings. Finished in 1537, 
it has sheltered, so says a tablet, Francis I., Medici 
Cardinal Legate, Earl Shrewsbury, Ambassador 
of the Queen and the Duchess — on the occasion 

lO 



146 FRANCE. 

of the visit of Louis XIV. to Eouen. An amusing 
note is attached, which reads as follows : '^•^Nota 
Bene. Visitors are informed that Jeanne d^Arc 
never sojourned in the Hotel Bourgtheroulde ! " 
Go where we would, we found sometliing interest- 
ing, although the marvels and imprints of modern 
life are fast obliterating the quaint and pictur- 
esque. In 1860 extensive demolition was made in 
one of the most picturesque streets of the city, but 
haply the great Clock Gate House which spanned 
it was undisturbed. It is a very odd structure, 
with immense dials on either side and carved re- 
liefs within the arch. Beside it is an old belfry 
tower from which curfew is tolled nightly. 

An excursion to " Bon Secours " upon a high 
cliff, gave a characteristic view of the narrow 
Seine with pretty bush-bordered islands, — a great 
stretch of green meadow and the city with its 
towers and turrets scarcely distinguishable in the 
hazy atmosphere. Long as our story seems, it 
does not note one half of the fascination and charm 
of majestic and venerable old Rouen, 



ALONG THE SHOEE. 

DIEPPE, ETC. 

Dieppe was very dull ! We were not surprised ! 
We knew it would be, for it was " out of season." 
But Dieppe itself was there and Dieppe, and not 
the senseless madding crowd which makes holiday, 
was what we desired to see. The guide-book 
about covers it in saying, — ^^ Dieppe in a deep de- 
pression between two ranges of chalk cliffs, as 
white and nearly as tall as those of England," for 
there the town lies upon a " tongue of flat land" 
with a river flowing in a great bend through it, 
making a well walled and protected harbor. We 
were somewhat disappointed in its general appear- 
ance, for, knowing it was a place of fashionable 
resort and misled by numerous pictures, we were 
really expecting a second Ostend ! From the 
pictures, we had fancied a long stretch of pretty 
gardens along the sea, faced by many a tasteful 
villa. The long pictured green was there, but it 
was a sort of ^' commons " with paths in every 
direction, with an unkempt careless look, hardly 
pardonable in these days of landscape gardening 
and flower picturing in high places. Facing this, 
a ways back from the beach, was an almost solid 
row of city fronted apartment houses and hotels 

147 



148 FRANCE. 

four and five stories high;, with little gardens and 
very tall railings in front. After all^ there was 
nothing the matter with Dieppe ! It was our 
senseless ideal which was at fault ! The great blue 
sea shimmering in the sunlight and the distant 
white cliffs were always beautiful. It was months 
since we had seen it breaking in reputable, tempt- 
ing surf upon a smooth beach, and that was at 
pretty Biarritz. Here, however, the beach is 
gravelly and coarse. It had used us very shabbily 
upon the northern waters since those sunny days. 
At the extreme end of the commons or downs, sur- 
rounded by lovely parterres with brilliant flowers, 
is a large brick casino, while upon the cliffs 
beyond appears the ancient castle of the fifteenth 
century, now a barrack, with numerous towers, 
steep roofs, angles, etc., which once had the honor 
of sheltering " King Henry of Navarre. ''^ A huge 
gateway, flanked by two massive towers, leads to 
the busy town which lies back of the line of hotels, 
which has little to interest save the harbor, which 
is like an artificial basin or dock, with a fleet of 
steamers and other craft, and the Church of St. 
Jacques, which is a picturesque mass or cluster of 
flying buttresses with screen-work traceries. The 
little Eiver Arques, flowing into the sea, really 
makes the sheltered harbor possible. Of course 
we must have a drive, and the ancient Castle of 
Arques, some four or five miles away, made as 
good an objective point as any. For a full hour 
the country traversed was of little interest and we 
felt a trifle '^ sold," for it was along a white, dusty 



ALONG THE SHORE. 149 

road, overlooking on one side the level valley and 
on the other frequently overlooked by chateaux, 
with fine surroundings and grounds, all so care- 
fully walled in that but little can be seen by the 
passing vulgar crowd. The ruins which occuj^y 
the crest of a very bold ridge between two valleys, 
are extensive and imposing, showing round and 
square towers and plain walls, well mantled with 
clematis and ivy. It is a place of much historic 
interest, for '^it is celebrated for the momentous 
victory gained beneath the walls by Henry IV. and 
his devoted band of four thousand Protestants, 
over the army of the League, thirty thousand 
strong. '^ We walked around them and from an 
opposite ridge, gained a characteristic and pretty 
Normandy view of a long fertile valley with smooth 
meadows, great rows of poplars, thatched and red- 
roofed cottages, and in a little village near by, a 
most irregular and picturesque Gothic Church 
with antique tower, and over the choir a pitched 
tent-like roof much taller than the rest, and upon 
the hills beyond, a dense forest. We stopped at 
the old church upon our return and found the ex- 
terior most picturesque, because of numerous gro- 
tesque gargoyles, ornamental flying buttresses, 
quaint tower and roofs. Having been added to at 
different periods, with no attempt at harmony or 
uniformity, it is a most picturesque jumble and we 
were not surprised to find several .artists sketch- 
ing it. Then for an hour we drove through a 
grand old forest, with wide, beautiful roads wind- 
ing and bending through it. It was park-like in 



150 FRANCE. 

its beauty ; delicious in its verdant and quiet 
seclusion. Tlie long vistas made by the straight 
roadsj were ways of delightful greenness and cool- 
ness. These forests are unique ; we have nothing 
in our land to liken them to. We passed over 
much historic ground associated with King Henry 
IV. of France and Henry II. of England. To the 
usual charm of the seashore^, the grand boundless 
sweep over the waters in varying mood, is added 
at Dieppe, the most peculiar appearance of the 
chalk cliffs, especially if the atmosphere is hazy, 
or when at sunset hour they seem like phantoms 
or banks of white clouds lying upon or rising from 
the sea. 

^* T* %» ^» ^» ^ 

We would fain go to Fecamp. How should we 
go ? Madame, of the hotel at Dieppe when asked 
about it, shrugged her thin, wiry shoulders and 
lifted Frenchily her eyebrows in horror, as she ex- 
claimed, " Fecamp ! Fecamp ! is a fish hole.'' 
Nevertheless to Fecamp, with its abbey and its 
drive to St. Jouin and Etretat, we would go, and 
having luggage, the longest way around, — that 
is, a return to Rouen, — was the shortest way there. 
It was very warm and the atmosphere hazy, just 
what the monotonous country needed to make it 
'' artistic ! " It was pretty and that was all ; 
highly cultivated and with the usual picturesque 
thatched cottages, heavy village churches and 
occasionally a large chateau. The chateaux of 
Normandy have a droll expression of having been 
set down at once and complete in their places. 



ALONG THE SHORE. 151 

much as a child would stand a block or toy-house 
upon the floor, with seldom the look as if in- 
tended to remain. Perhaps it is because of the 
straight up and down of the walls and roofs and 
the round cone-tipped towers at corners and the 
entire absence of porch or piazza, but they have a 
stiff angular appearance, neither harmonizing nor 
contrasting pleasantly with their rural surround- 
ings, at least from a distance. A most agreeable 
Frenchman in our compartment advised us to stop 
at Fecamp, saying it was most interesting and we 
could take a carriage and see it all before dinner 
and drive to Etretat on the morrow, adding with a 
twinkle, " Lose no time in getting otit of Xor- 
mandy and into Brittany as it is much more 
picturesque. ''' 

Like Dieppe, Fecamp occujDied a narrow tongue 
of land or level valley between the chalk cliffs, but 
it is much narrower and the town proportionately 
smaller. Yet it is a place of considerable manufac- 
ing importance. Perched upon the side hill fairly 
overhanging the little town, are numerous fanci- 
ful villas. The heach, as they term it, like that of 
Dieppe, is a stretch of coarse gravel. The sea 
was restless, rather inclined to be combative and 
the surf broke white and spray-like against the 
walls that protected the promenade. All the 
better since we only came to see. In the centre 
of the town is a gorgeous garden, crowded and 
running over with brilliant flowers. In the nec- 
tre, of it beneath a wrought iron canopy is a gilded 
statute. Facing the garden is a huge, extensive 



153 FRANCE. 

and most imposing group of buildings of fine 
architectural character and style, with Gothic 
windows, pointed roofs and dormers and much 
elaborate carving. From a central building rises 
a tall stately tower or spire and at either end a 
wing projects, forming a tasteful court with a 
front guard of tall gilt-tipped railings. It is very 
handsome and has such a scholastic or ecclesiasti- 
cal appearance that one instinctively assumes it is a 
college or library, whereas it is the manufactory of 
the celebrated liquor or cordial originally made by 
the monks, known all over the world under the 
name of "^ Benedictine.^' A recent fire made a 
visit impossible. 

The abbey church in the town is a structure of 
so little external merit, we were quite unprepared 
for the unusual beauty of the interior. Way back 
in A. D. 1200, this wonderful pile was erected, 
and even now it ranks in the estimation of critics 
and connoisseurs with the finest and best in 
France. The vista of the nave with its tall 
columns and arches, open triforium gallery and 
the very lofty lantern tower is as fine as anything 
we have seen, — always excepting peerless St. Ouen 
at Eouen. Back of the High Altar was a deep 
Chapel with a marble tabernacle containing some 
of the ''Precious Blood''' placed by Joseph of 
Arimathea in the hollow of a fig-tree, which 
being washed ashore near by, the spot was called 
''Ficus Campus," and hence ''Fecamp/' 



ALONG THE SHORE. 153 

Leaving the town and the sea level, we climbed 
slowly and gradually a very long ascent until we 
came to the level of the summit of the cliffs. The 
almost entire absence of fences, hedges or dividing 
line of any kind, gave to the gently undulating coun- 
try an easy, breathless sweep literally irom horizon 
to horizon, which was peculiar and withal, very 
fascinating. While highly cultivated and having 
an air of prosperity, the detached open-timbered 
cottages and hamlets, looked so unsteady, and 
forlorn, that life looked poor and hard. Even 
the chateaux, with but few excei3tions, looked 
shabby and their surrounding grounds unkempt 
and neglected. The people too, were far from 
pleasing or attractive and beggary ram23ant. The 
heavy rains probably accentuated the forlorn ap- 
pearance of many of the cottages, which did not look 
any more ambitious than many of the Norwegian 
log huts. All through the country we have 
noticed how universally pear trees are trained flat 
like a vine aa^ainst the walls. Sometimes everv 
house will be so adorned and the effect is beauti- 
ful, especially when laden with ripening fruit. In 
the course of an hour and a half we overlooked a 
verdant valley running towards the coast, w^th 
slopes an endless stretch of green and brown. 
Upon opposite hillside could be seen a grand park 
and forest, with buried in the trees an extensive 
chateau with almost grotesquely tall conical 
towers. Suddenly the road curved and before us 
was a line of showy and ornamental villas and 
walls hugging the side hills, while down in the 



154 FRANCE. 

valley lay the dull slate-covered roofs of Etretat. 
As a friend had bidden us to go to St. Jouin, an 
hour farther on, to luncheon at ^^ Ernestine's," 
we commenced at once the ascent of the op- 
posing hill. The country from there on was very 
beautiful, being a long majestic sweep of sunny 
green, of yellow and harvested fields and rich russet 
of freshly ploughed earth, with the occasional 
^"^ petite '" forest or thicket of trees, all seen 
through a delicious golden haze which fairly 
trembled as though it would melt away. Leaving 
the high-road we struck across country, — it was 
like being in one of Millet's or Oorot's pictures, 
it was so soft, delicious, and dreamy. Finally we 
came to a little hamlet, with cottages covered with 
pear trees and half hidden by hedges and shrub- 
bery, turned into an ivy clad gateway and canie 
into a garden, facing a chateau, the Hotel de 
Paris of Ernestine ! It was ideal, — ^' just like a 
story." Ivy and roses, and creeping plants, and 
great pear trees loaded with fruit, well-nigh ob- 
scured the stone-walls. In front was a huge 
arched trellis covered with Virginia creeper, fairly 
ablaze with autumnal crimson and gold. Beyond 
lay a garden with a multitude of upright pear 
trees, and along the walls another trained on a rod 
a foot or two from the ground. The front portal 
was wide open, revealing an entrance hall with 
walls covered with beautiful plaques, — bracketed 
shelves with odd pieces of china, bits of brasses, 
queer mirrors, antique clocks and one scarcely 
knows at a glance what all ! Upon either side 



ALONG THE SHORE. 155 

were laro^e rooms loaded and covered with paint- 
ings, engravings, brasses, bronze, china, gilt, 
wrought iron and steel ornaments of every descrip- 
tion. The rooms were fairly crowded with choice 
and richly carved antique furniture, clocks and 
very choice bric-a-brac. In the garden was the 
''atelier'* or studio, for madame^s son is an artist, 
and artists are very fond of St. Jouin and tarry 
there all summer. It was a most unique and 
pretty affair, being furnished with several large 
and richly carved cabinets, tables, chairs and suites 
of white furniture, antique hangings, embroideries, 
vases, cups, exquisite china pieces, numerous 
plaques, bronze, brass, copper and iron orna- 
ments and a great profusion of antique French 
chintz. In the hotel were many souvenir sketches 
and letters, presented to "la belle Ernestine," 
who, to tell the truth, is now a stout Frencli 
woman with iron-gray hair, portly frame and 
ruddy visage, at pitiful variance with many of the 
poetical and effusive tributes. One framed letter 
was from the Spanish statesman " Castelar " and 
another was a commendation from Queen Isabella. 
Our luncheon was laid in one of the prettily 
decorated rooms and was good, nothing more nor 
less. But the charge for it was so exorbitant we 
inclined to leave the bill upon the walls as an ad- 
dition to the curiosities ! Our friend had told us 
of sojourning there several weeks some two years 
before at the rate of five francs a day, with fre- 
quent rides to market in a Normandy cart with Er- 
nestine and huire sunbonnet thrown in. Had I]r- 



156 FRANCE. 

nestine known of our acquaintance^ we would have 
suspected her of a desire or intent to " even up" 
at our expense. However^ we paid it without use- 
less exception, and as we drove away felt much 
like exclaiming : "Oh;, Ernestine ! Ernestine ! if 
you have a shred of conscientiousness anywhere in 
your Gallic make up, your life will be a burden 
until the memory of this unjust charge is obliter- 
ated by an opportunity to repeat it perhaps on a 
larger and a broader scale ! 
Nevertheless, we say : — " Goto Ernestine's." 



Etretat, an hour distant, like Dieppe and Fe- 
camp, lies in a lateral valley between the chalk 
cliffs, and for many years has been a most pictur- 
esque and fashionable resort. As the hillsides 
are dotted with numerous fanciful villas, it makes 
a much prettier appearance than either of the 
other two. The shore is covered with what they 
call " a pebble beach," with stones from almost 
the size of a cobble to that of a large marble. It 
was low tide and we found it extremely difficult to 
walk to the water^s edge over this crunching 
mass. Along the shore are the " galoches," old 
superannuated boats or hulks of large size, roofed 
with thatched peak covers, and used as store- 
houses for ropes, nets and fishermen^s traps. They 
are most droll and odd and make fine subjects for 
the artist's brush. There is the usual casino and 
several hotels. The view is most unique and 
strangely beautiful, for the great chalk cliffs on 



ALONG THE SHORE. 157 

either side have been torn and worn by the action 
of the sea into most fantastic shapes, arches, tur- 
rets and detached columns. Looking toward the 
right on that soft, dreamy afternoon, we saw the 
termination of the cliffs lying upon the water 
against the blue sky, like a bank of white clouds, 
pierced at extremity by a pretty archway. To 
the left, the cliffs were nearer and were white and 
glittering and curiously pierced. We walked to 
the summit and looked down upon weird and fan- 
tastic pinnacles, into deep well-holes and upon 
arched passageways, through projecting masses, 
which were wonderful. The sea, softened by the 
haze, was shimmering in the sunlight, and the 
weird white cliffs glistened like the walls of an 
eternal and celestial city. The view toward and 
over the slate-covered roofs of Etretat, the beach 
with a large corps of washerwomen laying the 
clothes out and securing them with stones, the 
quaint, picturesque house-boats and beyond, over 
the prettily wooded hill dotted with villas, was 
most charming ; but it was the perforated white 
cliffs, so weird and spectral, and the broad, blue 
shimmering sea, that held us like a spell. 



The little steamer from Havre, in landing at 
Trouville, stopped at the extreme end of a very 
long pier from which a sweeping view is obtained 
of the entire coast and the best part of the place. 
The season of course, was over ; the majority of 
the private villas and the larger hotels were closed ; 



158 FRANCE. 

but the place, the pretty panorama of villas, the 
beach, the promenade and the sea, go on forever. 
Our windows and balconies commanded a delight- 
ful outlook upon the yellow sands and the sound- 
ing sea. The beach is of yellow sand instead of 
the dreadful pebble and cobble-stone of Dieppe 
and Etretat. Facing the sea is a continuous line 
of detached villas and hotels, all fanciful, festive 
and ornamental, surrounded with pretty gardens 
and shrubbery. From the pier one lovely morn- 
ing we looked upon the picturesque row of villas, 
soft and yellow in the sunlight, and upon the sea, 
calm and serene. Beyond the villas a forest 
crowned hill showed here and there among the 
trees, the gables, turrets, towers or roofs of numer- 
ous villas. Across the waters, at the foot of, and 
high up on the side of hill and ridge, which at 
extremity terminates in an abrupt cliff line, gleam- 
ed the roofs and towers of prosaic Havre, trans- 
figured by the sunlight into a suggestion of a 
shining city or abode of the blest. In an opposite 
direction lay Danville, — another stretch of pre- 
tentious villas following the coast. The French 
are nothing unless amused, and the customary 
Casino, divides the honors. Historically Trouville 
is interesting as being the port from which Louis 
Philippe in 1848 and Eugenie in 1870, escaped to 
England. 

But the sea, the sea sweeps all before it, with 
its changing moods and varying expression, and 
when upon its sunlit waters appears some rude 
hulk with green or blue or terra cotta sails, or as 



ALONG THE SHORE. 159 

several lie idly in as many positions and the colors 
grow bright and glowing or die away in indistinct- 
ness, it is like some delicate fairy-like mirage or 
poetic vision. 

The perusal of " Three Normandy Inns " along 
the way, made a drive to Honfleur and Villerville 
essential to peace of mind all through our future 
earthly career, whenever Trouville should chance 
to be mentioned. It is only the matter of a few 
hours but the memory is for a life time. Up the 
hill from the town, looking down upon extensive 
mussel beds and low black rocks, and back upon 
Trouville and the whole beautiful coast beyond, 
and then for an hour and a half along a charming 
country road for a while, quite shut in by hedge 
rows which obscured but did not completely hide 
the fanciful villas and fine surrounding grounds, 
often brilliant with great solid masses of color or 
odd ribbon beds. Up and down with many a 
lovely and dreamy view over the bay of sunny 
Havre, with Villerville lying far below upon the 
shore, to be visited later we supposed, but passed 
upon our return because of gathering fog. A few 
moments pause at Crique-boeuf, to visit a tiny 
ancient wayside church with huge wedge-shaped 
Norman tower, with walls and roof almost com- 
pletely obscured by a massive and heavy growth 
of bushy ivy, and then on to Honfleur by a per- 
fectly beautiful road, closely lined with tall beeches 
and elms which often formed a continuous arch 
over head, while the banks were frequently a solid 
mass of matted ivy, surmounted by hawthorn and 



160 FRANCE. 



other shrubs. The road wound and turned in 
most charming variety, costly villas peeped through 
the trees, and from opposite side were revealed 
frequent outlooks over the golden waters. Just 
before Honfleur was reached we noticed numerous 
signs, advising a visit to the '' Oote du Grace ' 
(a votive church of the sailors) and a lunch at 
Hotel Eenaissance where was a "large exhibit of 
antique furniture, ancient carvings, rare china and 
"bric-a-brac,^'' both upon the hill above. We 
could not, of course withstand that ! A path by 
repeated zigzags, led through woods, up the steep 
face of the ridge, which, owing to the recent rains, 
was slippery and tiresome. It emerged finally upon 
a level plateau with a grove of fine and handsome 
trees, a sort of pleasure ground, commanding the 
loveliest view of all, over the broad shining waters, 
the yellow sands and the white cliffs of distant 
shores. The hotel proved a very modern struc- 
ture witli a kitchen resplendent with rich an- 
cient carved panels and lintels set in the walls 
and sundry pieces of carved furniture, chests and 
cabinets and copper and china utensils upon the 
walls. Ordering some refreshments, we mildly 
intimated we would like to see the Museum. ^' Im- 
possible ! the proprietor absent, etc."'' " Very well,"" 
we said, " then we do not care for the refresh- 
ments"" and turned to leave, when presto ! we 
were asked to follow ! We passed through a pretty 
room, with the most delightful carved chests and 
buffets and bric-a-brac, all of centuries ago, — and 
were then ushered into an oblong room (perhaps. 



§ 



ALONG THE SHORE. 161 

thirty feet) with sumptuously carved wainscoting 
full eight or ten feet in height, from an old chateau, 
which black with age and brilliant with varnish, 
was an exhibit of itself. Above, the wall was 
lined with tapestry, evidently quite as old, while 
chairs and tables, cases of silver, jewels and minia- 
tures, lovely plaques of china and gorgeous faience 
and articles of brass, iron and bronze filled the en- 
tire room. In the subdued light of rich tinted 
glass this interior was an exquisite and refined 
2)icture. 

Beyond the charming grove stood the little 
'^ Cote du Grace ^' very tiny in size with a nave 
and transept and low roof, and with walls covered 
with votive offerings. Even from the ceiling were 
suspended miniature vessels and gilded candelabra 
which, with the flower-decked altars, gave a very 
cheerful and festive air to the interior. Looked 
at without prejudice it becomes pathetic, — the air 
being redolent with praise and thanksgiving. 

A wide smooth road led down into the very 
heart of Honfleur, which, with its steep, narrow, 
circuitous streets ; its rows of irregular houses ; 
its evil-smelling wharves ; its picturesque fleets of 
shipping with multi-colored sails ; its frequent 
elaborately carved and ornamented facades of faded 
and decayed splendor ; its odd tower of St. Catha- 
rine and its curious timber church, is most in- 
teresting and delightful to artist or dreamer. The 
interior of St. Catharine is remarkable and curious. 
I said in the beginning it was a matter of a few 
hours, but we were sorry we could not give it a day. 
II 



163 



FRANCE. 



Upon our return the fog came slowly across the 
sea, and little Villerville was passed unvisited. 



The next morning our faces turned inland. Our. 
last look from the dainty Trouville balcony over 
the sunny sea, profusely dotted with tiny blue, 
green, pink and dull red sails, a veritable Vanity 
Fair, was enchanting and not unlike, in the hazy 
air, a myriad of soft-tinted butterflies fluttering 
over a daisy-starred or flowery meadow, in some 
fairy or fabled land. 



ONE WAY OF DOING IT. 

L^HOSTELLEKIE GUILLAUME LE CON^QUERANT. 

If there is any more charming or picturesque 
bit in all Normandy, than the wayside hostelry at 
Dives, of " Guillaume le Conquerant," one of the 
trio idealized, but most fascinatingly portrayed in 
" Three Normandy Inns/' it was not given us to 
see it. A French lady at the hotel at Trouville, 
quite disconcerted us by contemptuously remarking 
that the " Hotel William the Conqueror '^ was only 
a restaurant where visitors went for lunch or dinner 
and that we should go to Cabourg, a half hour 
away, and drive over there. An employe quietly 
assured us that they had, as they say, '^ about 
thirty beds for guests." So we decided we had 
come too far to see this unique resting-place for 
man and beast and its accumulation of articles of 
*' bijouterie and virtu " to pass the brief time of 
our sojourn at a giddy summer hotel, three quarters 
of a mile away, with only the impressions of an 
hour within its precincts. We were ^^ caught 
napping," for gazing listlessly at the mountainous 
country as we passed along in the train we did not 
notice our arrival until startled by " Dives !" A 
lively and general scramble for our multitudinous 
traps or ^impedimenta" followed, and almost 

163 



164 FRANCE. 



1 



before we knew it the train was on its winding 
way and we and said belongings were packed in a 
rickety old omnibus driven by quite as rickety and 
ancient a driver, bearing rapidly across the coun- 
try, to a great delight or equally great disappoint- 
ment. In a very brief time we came to a long 
building close upon the street with commonplace 
fa9ade suggesting an ordinary apartment or dwell- 
ing house and with no intimation of the pictur- 
esquoness it enfolded, with hollyhocks, clematis 
and glorious Gloire de Dijon roses trained against 
the walls, quaint dormers upon roof, a queer half 
gable at corner, a swinging sign of wrought iron, 
and over the low arch of entrance, carved in stone, 
'^ L^Hostellerie Guillaume Le Oonquerant " sur- 
mounted by a crest. Passing through the arched 
Norman porte-cochere which pierces the building, 
one is ushered into the court, — the commonplace 
and later day fade away ; — life seems suffused with 
the picturesque and synonymous with an old-time 
legend or story book. A pretty picture it is, of a 
long sunny court with pitched, moss-covered, 
weather-stained tiled roofs ; droll crazy-looking 
dormers with tall finials of glazed pottery ; open 
timbered black and white walls and a gallery on 
second story, following one half the way around, 
garlanded and hung with clematis, jasmine, grape 
and rose vines, which hang and sway with cease- 
less grace and bewitching and fascinating effect. 
Across the court projects a wing which, in fact, 
divides it quite into two square courts and sounds 
the most picturesque note in the whole fanciful 



ONE WAY OF DOING IT. 165 

harmony. An ontside staircase npon it, leads to 
an open gable porch in second story with small 
statue of the Madonna in its pediment and 
sculptured wood figure against one of the quaint 
carven posts. Upon either side, beneath tiny- 
paned, red-curtained windows, artful bas-reliefs 
with terra-cotta grounds, are sunken in the walls. 
In two curious dormers on the roof above, two 
great white parrots or cockatoos arrange their 
plumage or indulge in droll gymnastics or amus- 
ing antics in the sunshine. Huge jars or boxes 
with myrtles, scarlet geraniums and brilliant be- 
gonias, stand along the basement and relieve the 
dull gray of the walls, and as effectively as if ar- 
ranged and grouped, stem by stem, for temporary 
decoration. An enormous trumpet-creeper, with 
a wealth of scarlet blossoms, wanders along the 
roof ridge, falls riotously over the roof and en- 
velops a dormer. The other angle of the court re- 
peats the gables and galleries, all festooned and half 
obscured by the prodigal clematis and other vines. 
Along opposite side is a low line of sheds and 
'^ lean-to's," for man and beast, and from building 
to building are great swinging ropes and festoons 
of feathery clematis. We sat down beneath a little 
porch " to take the picture in." At that moment 
a young American lass, with flowing hair and 
white " Tam O'Shanter " cap, — a regular " Golden- 
haired Gertrude," appeared in the quaint, elevated 
porch, holding upon her hand, falcon-like, one of 
the noisy white cockatoos. It was dramatic and 
artistic. White-capped maids and servitors, in 



166 FRANCE. 



i 



ruder gear, flitted to and fro across the court with 
trays glittering with glass and plate and bottles 
well covered with dust and cobwebs and disap- 
peared in a most uncanny way in hitherto unno- 
ticed low doorways, and continually through the 
porte-cochere would come pretty victorias, open 
landaus or Normandy carts with gayly-dressed 
visitors from the hotels of Cabourg. All was life 
and motion. At times the little court was most 
brilliant because of numerous groups around the 
tiny tables or in the droll booths at the sides. In 
one corner of front court a queer coquettish 
little peaked-roof porch with a metal crown for a 
finial, sheltered a low, carved, black door. Pass- 
ing through it from the sunlight of the court, one 
is dazed and confused by the semi-darkness and 
indistinctness of the apartment to which it leads. 
But sit and wait, for slowly and gently the indis- 
tinctness is dissipated and from the darkness is 
evolved soft luminous recesses of color from a deep 
carven bay window with glowing liquid glass of 
centuries ago, and as the eye becomes accustomed to 
the light, gradually is seen, encircling the side 
walls below, great stretches of priceless and gor- 
geous golden and colored Spanish leather, a tall 
and continuous wainscoting of almost black, ele- 
gantly carved wood, finished at top with narrow 
cornice or ledge, crowded with odd and quaint ves- 
sels and articles of china, glass, silver and brass. 
Plaques of china and faience and great brass 
sconces hang against the walls and woodwork. 
Pendant from an odd cluster of twisted brass in 



ONE WAY OF DOING IT. 167 

centre of beamed ceiling, is a lovely and graceful 
chandelier with arable inscriptions, the contribu- 
tion of the Orient to this strange, poetic apartment, 
peering out of and buried within the commonplace 
walls of the street exterior. Great carved chests, 
made for trousseaux of brides of long ago, serve 
as buffets, fairly covered with quaint glass and 
china of odd shapes and exquisite colors. A deep 
fireplace, with hood of Gothic traceries and rich 
curtains of embroidered silk, has armorial shields 
for a background and tall fire-dogs surmounted by 
holders for small pewter porringers. Odd chairs, 
low settles, damask cushions and all sort of odd 
and interesting articles, from a stiff, carved Ma- 
donna of gilded wood to a queer little spoon, fill 
the room which is the ^^ salon of the Marmousets." 
To sit quietly in this room in the deeply shadowed 
corners was to feel lost in a poem, enveloped in a 
lovely harmony. And is this all ? No ! for ad- 
joining it, entered from the other court, is a smaller 
but equally beautiful one, called the " Salon de la 
Pucelle,^' encircled by a tall Gothic or ecclesiastical 
panelling in the rich dark wood ; a tall old clock 
with spiral columns, all sorts of odd copper ves- 
sels in chimney-place, linen and trousseau chests, 
sconces, china and furniture. With the candles 
in tall silver candelabra lighted and the tables 
arranged for special dinners as we saw them, the 
two rooms were very beautiful and picturesque. 
Still another called " Salon Bleu " was furnished 
with white and blue and several exquisite pieces 
of old mahogany with ormolu mountings. Upon 



168 FRANCE. 

the galleries or balconies overlooking the courts 
the doors were labelled ^' Ohambre Gatina/' — 
'' Ohambre de la Officier/^ ^' Chambre de la Cure," 
and the guests and the white-capped maids seen 
through a tangle of vines passing to and fro 
were irresistibly pretty. In the oldest portion, 
that which forms the half gable on the corner, 
are the rooms occupied frequently by " Madame 
de Sevigne," but unfortunately they were in use, 
and we left without seeing their handsome wain- 
scoting and the furniture used by her. 

The trend of the search for the beautiful and 
the picturesque does not often turn kitchen ward, 
but in this curious hostelry that humble apart- 
ment is as unique and dainty as the more ambitious 
salons. Upon either side of the rafters which sup- 
port the low ceiling, little racks with continuous 
rows of odd and beautiful placques ; an old carved 
dresser loaded with exquisite and tasteful bits of 
faience and china ; an open closet filled with the 
same and in one corner a lovely stand with an odd 
vessel of plate. Against the walls hang number- 
less copper and metal vessels which shine like mir- 
rors and across one side of room is a huge open 
chimney-place with great glowing fire of logs be- 
fore which upon revolving spit were chickens and 
joints, while two cooks entirely in white completed 
a very fascinating picture. 

It was a perfect delight to sit quietly in the va- 
rious quaint nooks of the courts and watch it all, 
even to the cockatoos, the crane, the peacocks, the 
jet-black ducks and the great top-knot fowls feed- 



ONE WAY OF DOING IT. 169 

ing, whenever anything was thrown to them. As 
the day grew long and sober and the transient 
visitors disappeared, a lovely tender light suffused, 
softened and quite obscured all the lines of rough- 
ness and decay. At one side a gate opened into 
the enclosed garden, but it was unkempt and over- 
run, with here and there a rose, the last of 
summer, — great masses of deep red phlox, mari- 
golds and jaunty little Michaelmas daisies. 

A long wet summer and a recent week of con- 
tinuous rain were probably responsible for an air 
of dampness, mustiness and general lack of tidi- 
ness in the courts. It seems impossible to be 
** artistic" and ^'^ picturesque" and be clea7i, siud 
ordinary French hotels are rarely deem. 

Paradoxical as it may seem, the Frenchwoman 
at Trouville was iight : — again, she was wrong I 
It depends upon how you look at it ! It is a place 
to lunch, to dine ; a charming objective point for 
a drive and not a place to sleep. While our rooms 
were commodious and picturesque, the artistic 
hangings and ancient upholstery made them too 
" stuffy," too suggestive of a eleeiel past, for living 
refreshing sleep. 

On the other hand it is a place to sleep, for one 
who passes only an hour or two within the pleas- 
ing and varied enclosure of its courts knows little 
of the poetry and sentiment inseparable from 
changing lights and coquettish shadows and loses 
much of the enchantment of its picturesque group- 
ings, fantastic conceits, and beautiful realities. 



HOUSES LEFT DESOLATE. 



CAEiq". 

Doubtless the most picturesque figure in legen- 
dary and historic Normandy, is that of William 
the Conqueror. His name is everywhere ; — the 
air is fairly redolent with his exploits. Because 
of his marriage with a near relative, which was a 
flagrant violation of the rules of Holy Church, 
and his desire to expiate his errors with pious 
offering and to find peace with the Pope, the busy 
town of Caen " second only to Eouen in impor- 
tance" is the possessor of two noble churches, 
which architecturally are so fine and impressive 
that the tourist of to-day instinctively and ir- 
reverently wishes he had espoused the whole re- 
maining family if results could have been propor- 
tionate. The town is indebted to him also for a 
most picturesque castle. As the two churches are 
at opposite ends of the town, a drive from one to 
the other through wide streets, past innumerable 
^'^ Caen-stone " houses, monuments, etc., gives a 
most satisfactory general view of the place. While 
ostensibly expiating his sin by erecting the Ab- 
baye Aux Hommes and its attendant church of 
St. Etienne, the wily William artfully combined 
with his repentance a regal provision for his own 
burial. 

170 



HOUSES LEFT DESOLATE. 171 

Notwithstanding a great central octagonal 
tower, several turrets and two elegant spires 
upon western end, the huge pile of St. Etienne 
is so bold and simple as to seem severely 
plain, although its size makes it fine and im- 
pressive. The interior is grand rather than 
ornate and beautiful, because of its breathless 
extent and the rugged massiveness of the Nor- 
man style. The attention is not distracted nor 
the eye charmed by lavish and elaborate orna- 
mentation and detail, but the mind is overwhelmed 
and solemnized by the simple grandeur and august 
greatness of the strong unadorned round arches 
which, high in air, stretch away in impressive 
procession, some three hundred and forty-nine 
feet. At the extreme apsidal end, beyond the 
choir, the style changes to early Gothic with 
pointed arches and lancet windows. Before the 
High Altar sunken in the pavement is a vivid 
confirmation of the stirring '^Vanity of vanities, 
all is vanity^' of the Preacher, — a long gray or 
discolored marble slab which marks the place 
of burial of '^ Guillaume le Conquerant,^' in- 
scribed : — 

Hie sepultus est 

In victissimis 

GUILLELMUS 

Conquestor 

Normanniae Dux 

et Angliae Rex 

Hujusce Domus 
Conditor 

Qui obiit anno 

MLXXXVII 

But it covers an empty grave, — it is a house 



17^ FRANCE. 



without a tenant, for in 1562 the Huguenots ruth- 
lessly destroyed the costly monument which origi- 
nally surmounted it and scattered the poor remains 
so effectually that only a thigh bone was ever re- 
covered, and the remorseless Revolutionists in 
1793, made short work of even this scanty remnant 
of a King ! " None so poor to do him reverence." 
The story of the injury to his person by the start- 
ing of his horse after the firing and -laying waste 
of Mantes ; of his lonely death a few days later at 
St. Gervais at Rouen, deserted by his sons and 
followers, and of his corpse, robbed and stripped 
by ungrateful servants, lying neglected until some 
unknown but faithful knight provided funds for 
its burial at Caen ; — the interruptions of the final 
service by the demand of a man for reparation for 
wrong done his father in the original taking of the 
land upon which the church stands, — the payment 
of the same and the breaking of the coffin while 
lowering and the abrupt closing of the service and 
the stampede of attendants because of offensive 
odors, — is a strange and gruesome ending of a 
picturesque and erratic career. But to day as one 
stands by the desecrated and outraged grave and 
looks along the impressive and solemn vista of 
this structure which he so proudly raised for this 
definite purpose, with no note of war or conflict 
breaking the calm repose and holy stillness of the 
scene, this story of history seems a myth, — a wild 
play of the dramatist's imagination. 

This couple deemed by the Church in life too 
near, certainly were sufficiently separated in death 



i 



HOUSES LEFT DESOLATE. 173 

and burial ; for quite to the opposite side of the 
town is the ^' Abbaye aux Dames ^^ in the church 
of which, '' St. Trinite/^ Queen Matilda was 
buried, although her remains did not escape dis- 
persion by the Calvinists. Later they were re- 
covered and re-interred. The church is a stately 
aud massive pile, with two noble towers, without 
spires ornamenting the west front and a central 
or lantern tower rising over intersection of tran- 
sept and nave. While sombre and heavy it is 
mystic and imposing. The interior is fine and 
quite ornate, showing Norman arches and profuse 
ornamentation. The '' tout-ensemble," however, 
is much marred by the fencing or partitioning 
off of the choir for the use of the nuns. We 
were conducted through a corridor into the choir. 
Against the partition was an altar, opposite it a 
row of square grated doors. The guide lifted one 
of the inside curtains and revealed a beautiful and 
most effective scene. Some twenty-five or thirty 
white robed, black veiled figures occupied the 
great carved stalls, so intent upon their devotions 
that not an eye was lifted. The placid faces and 
white-robed forms, as a spectacle, were lovely. 
Within the choir is the tomb of Queen Matilda, a 
restoration of the present century. Beneath the 
choir is a fine crypt with groined roof and thirty- 
four columns which formerly was the burial-place 
of abbesses. The adjoining '^ Abbaye" was 
founded by the Queen as a nunnery for ladies of 
the nobility. It is now a hospital in care of an 
order of nuns. By a corridor the whole length of 



174 FRANCE. 

a large court, we passed out into a lovely park, 
with superb avenue of trees with branches inter- 
mingling above, which was continued around three 
.sides of the level park. From thence queer spiral 
paths lined with hedges led to a belvedere upon 
the crest of a little hill, which commanded an in- 
teresting and pretty view over the city. We were 
driven to the old castle of the Conqueror, but as 
it is now used as a barrack, there was no admis- 
sion. '^ Ooachee^' probably knew it all the time, 
but it evidently was not '^ his to reason why ^' but 
only his to increase his fare as much as was possible. 
However, we had a near view of the fortifications, 
outlying walls, bastions, moat and drawbridge, 
and there was a charming jungle of shrubbery and 
tangle of vines near the moat and bridge. There 
is always something pretty and picturesque about 
these places, if one is only in the mood to discover 
and enjoy it, and the traveller's life is too brief to 
be fretted by such trifles. 

A few moments from our hotel, was the fascinat- 
ing and beautiful church of St. Pierre, with at 
one side, a pretty garden making such an open 
space that its dainty outline and form are seen to 
unusual advantage. Its most beautiful feature is 
its tower, " one of the most graceful in Normandy." 
It is peculiar in that slender, narrow, tall lancet 
windows pierce it for the space of two or three 
stories, giving an expression of extreme delicacy 
and grace without any sacrifice of massiveness or 
strength. It is a fair and beautiful object to look 
upon, — that light springing tower, surmounted by 



HOUSES LEFT DESOLATE. 175 

a semi-open spire standing some two hundred and 
forty-two feet in the still blue air. The pinnacles 
and flying buttresses along the whole length are 
Gothic, but the apsidal eastern end with little 
chapels projecting like bay windows are enriched 
with finials and balustrades of ^irof use Renaissance 
ornamentation, the effect of which is most dainty 
and picturesque. It is a queer mixture, — the 
Gothic, all dignity and impressiveness ; the Renais- 
sance, like a daintily ormamented and richly em- 
broidered hanging. The vista of the interior, ow- 
ing to the plain glass windows and open surrounding 
space, is unusally light and cheerful, while at the 
same time exquisitely harmonious, solemn and 
meditative. For about one half of the length the 
groining of the ceiling is profuse, ending with long 
pendants or tapering bosses, and the view of the 
distant stained windows of the chapels through 
the arches back of the high altar, is unusually 
beautiful. 

A brief visit to St. Saveur, with a curious in- 
terior of two parallel naves with central row of 
arches and columns and apsidal ends ablaze with 
gorgeous glass, finished our sightseeing in common- 
place but interesting Caen. A general drive 
showed us the quays and well-shaded streets and 
boulevards and some quaint Renaissance fa9ades, 
and our faithful guide-book quietly informed us 
that it was once a hot-bed of Girondists when 
driven from Paris ; — was the town from which 
Charlotte Corday, picturesque and murderous, set 
out upon her mission which culminated in the 



176 FRANCE. 

dramatic assassination of Marat ; — that it was the 
birth-place of Auber and a lot of celebrities and 
the scene of the death in a madhouse and burial 
in the Protestant Cemetery of Beau Brummell ! 
But it seemed the step from the sublime to the 
ridiculous to begin with the sounding name^ 
career and tragic end of William the Conqueror, 
and to close with the meaningless echoes of fop- 
pery and frippery, as exemplified in the life of 
that exquisite nonentity, Beau Brummell. 



'^m PERICULO MARIS/' 

MON'T ST. MICHEL. 

The numerous very effective and picturesque 
etchings and engravings of Mont St. Michel, make 
one shrink at the last lest the reality disappoint 
the fascinating ideal, — dispel the beautiful dream. 
But familiarity in this instance breeds no con- 
tempt. The unique and curious pile of fortress, 
city, monastical structures and cathedral, delights 
the eye, and fully meets every requirement of the 
artistic and picturesque. It is so thoroughly un- 
like any other place, save perhaps St. Michael's 
Mount upon the Cornwall coast, that even the 
satiated tourist or ^'^ blase" globe-trotter, is con- 
scious of a new thrill, a novel sensation, as across 
the mainland, springing from the waters, is seen 
the beautiful pile with its coronal of cathedral 
turrets and buttresses. It seems strange that 
this mighty rock, boulder-like, should lie beyond 
the level sands a good mile from the mainland, 
solitary and detached. Like Gibraltar it seems like 
a bit of another world unintentionally dropped upon 
the low-lying shore. Something perhaps of the 
picturesque and unique effect has been destroyed 
of late years by the construction of a causeway 
across '^La Greve'^ or the sands, for previously, 

12 1:7 



178 FRANCE. 

with every incoming tide it was completely iso- 
lated when it must have been a beautiful sight to 
see the rapid, swirling waters encompass it. But 
it makes access possible at any hour, although it 
robs the approach to it of any novelty or excitement. 
When one wishes to get there he is glad for the 
causeway, — but when upon its serene heights he 
watches the strange, weird transformation or pro- 
cessional of the incoming tide, he heartily wishes 
it a league away. We were some five hours travel- 
ling by rail from Caen to Pontarsen, where we took 
the stage. Two changes were made on the way 
and at the last junction a trunk was missing, hav- 
ing been, as it afterwards proved, carried on to 
Granville, en route to the Channel Islands. Hav- 
ing covered in repeated trips, literally the whole 
continent of Europe, without the least trouble or 
inconvenience from luggage, it was a trifle droll 
that this brief trip in Normandy and Brittany 
should twice witness the vexatious and annoying 
disappearance for days of important baggage, once 
it being actually returned to Paris and again 
stranded at G-ranville through no fault of ours. 
The day we left Caen was beautiful and the aspect 
of the country quite unlike any we had passed. 
It was so full of trees. It seemed as if every hedge- 
row and dividing line was picked out or dotted 
with aline of tall trees. These lines and dark 
green spots on the vivid green of the meadows, 
were curious and beautiful in eifect. Avranches, 
situated upon a lofty hill, was to us by far the 
most attractive place passed. Because of its ele- 



*'IN PERICULO MARIS." 179 

vated situation we could understand how its view 
of Mont St. Michel and its twin islet, rising from 
the waters of the bay, must be, as it is said, sur- 
passingly beautiful. There once stood one of the 
finest cathedrals in Normandy, of which to-day 
only a single broken column remains, interesting 
as marking the spot where Henry II. knelt before 
the Papal Legates and received absolution for the 
murder of Thomas a Becket. 

At Pontarsen, we mounted an ark of a coach 
drawn by four horses. Along the roadway were 
great hedges or compact rows of feathery shrub with 
dull pink flowers, common enough in single plants 
upon our lawns. The wind blew cold and chill 
from the north. Ere long, across the level stretch 
of meadows, with strange weird beauty, a tumul- 
tuous mound of fortification walls, a confusion of 
houses lifted high in air, a mass of Gothic pin- 
nacles, came in sight. This, our first glimpse of 
distant, enchanting and fascinating Mont St. 
Michel was most satisfying and delightful. Oh ! 
the beauty of that crossing of '' La Greve'^ or the 
sands, even if it were upon an artificial causeway, 
for the tide was madly rushing in, a mysterious 
and mighty force, and everywhere the environing 
yellow sands were gradually being covered and lost 
in the swirling heaving waters. The western sky 
was glorious with golden clouds and the bril- 
liant sunlight touched the waters and made 
brighter the tawny yellowish walls of the ancient 
uplifted Abbey and Cathedral. Surely tlie 
" Archangel Michael, — the saint of high places," 



180 FRANCE. 



was never more fitly enshrined or enthroned. The 
glamour of a strange history, both secular 
and ecclesiastical, covering centuries of war 
and conquest, regimes and dynasties, hangs over 
and clings to and fairly envelops the wonder- 
ful pyramidal pile, and approaching it one is 
fairly dazed by its spectacular effect and its sug- 
gestions of a confused and dead past. The coach 
stopped at the very base, close up against the wall, 
and dismounting we walked upon a rude modern 
foot-bridge carried along the fortifications and in 
a moment entered an outer gate, — came in sight 
of the old cannons, — passed through the second 
arched portal and a moment later were ^' vis-a-vis '' 
with Madame Poulard, so vividly and truthfully 
portrayed in ^^ Three Normandy Inns.^^ We 
seemed to have come into a familiar place, all be- 
cause of that charming book. What was more 
strange, we found the poetical and idealized de- 
scription both of Madame and the weird Mount 
upon the golden sands, perfectly truthful and a 
Meissonier in delicacy and fidelity of detail. The 
authoress saw more, however, than the ordinary 
tourist is likely to do, for she looked at everything 
through an atmosphere of poetry and sentiment, 
caring less for what was actually before her and 
more for what, in imagination and fancy, it sug- 
gested. '' But what is Mont St. Michel ? " some 
one innocently asks ! And no wonder, for even 
with the etchings and engravings frequently seen, 
comparatively little is known of it. Well ! It is 
a pyramidal, isolated rock, rising from the Bay of 



?1 



'IN PERICULO MARIS." 181 

Michel upon the Brittany coast, one hundred and 
sixty feet above the surrounding " Greve," or 
sands, about a mile or half a mile from the main- 
land, which twice a day is so surrounded by the sea, 
through the action of the tide, as to form an island. 
But let no one imagine that any of the rock ap- 
pears when seen from the mainland, for it is so 
covered from base to summit as to form a most 
unique and picturesque architectural pile. En- 
circled at the base by lofty, massive fortifications 
with towers and bastions of the fifteenth century 
which rise from the waters, it shows a succession 
of houses perched upon narrow terraces, until at 
the topmost crest, loom up the walls, turrets and 
flying buttresses of an ancient monastery and 
cathedral. This is the plain English of it, but it 
gives no idea of the startling, sensational beauty, — 
the picturesque jumble and confusion of outline 
and form or the peculiar massive airiness of the 
pile. 

Following pretty Madame Poulard up one story 
and another and then up an outside open staircase, 
we emerged upon a platform or terrace directly 
above the hotel, upon which is the '' Maison 
Rouge " an ugly " dependance " of red brick, a 
discordant note in a symphony of brown and yel- 
lows, where we were shown two droll little rooms 
with balconies commanding a superb view. It was 
late and the darkness gathered rapidly, as is its wont 
in Autumn time. Ere long ^' table d^hote'Mvas 
announced, and we wondered, unfamiliar as we 
were, if we could grope our way down in safety. 



182 FRANCE. 

Bat as we passed out in the cool dark evening air, 
little Chinese lanterns were handed us to light our 
way down the long narrow outer staircase. The 
front of the Maison Rouge and the terrace were 
also dotted with them. Up and down the stair- 
case like angels climbing a mystical ladder or like 
colored fire-flies or sprites flitting to and fro, 
moved the little procession of tiny lanterns in the 
darkness, magically transforming the picture of 
the stern fortress, dull tower and ornate cathedral 
we had so admired, to a fairy-like revel or festival 
of most poetic and startling beauty. We wondered 
if an ordinary passing to a hotel dinner was ever 
made more daintily spectacular or exquisitely pic- 
turesque ? 

Before the Maison and looking upon the Greve 
and the mainland, is a pretty little terrace with a 
row of trimmed lime trees with room for a number 
of chairs and small tables where one may sit in 
perfect quiet, lifted high in air, and sip his ''. cafe 
noir " and gaze listlessly and dreamily upon the 
waters of the canal, the yellow sands or the dis- 
tant verdant shore. A little balcony from each 
room upon every floor gives the same lookout 
without the shade. It being late in the season and 
the early sunny mornings deliciously cool, we en- 
joyed much our coffee and rolls there, while we 
watched the beautiful surrounding scene. One 
afternoon as we sat there in supreme content sud- 
denly was heard a great roaring noise of artillery. 
Looking down we saw the water that a moment 
before had seemed so glittering and still, strangely 



*' IN PERICULO MARIS." 183 

agitated, for the tide was coming in like a torrent 
suddenly released by mighty barriers. Never had 
we beheld so weird and strange a sight, so entirely 
unlike the ordinary rise and fall of a tide. — It is 
said that it comes in faster than a horse can gal- 
lop ! A little river has been deepened and ex- 
cavated like a canal to the mainland, across 
the level sands. In this the waters rapidly 
came in a straight line, soon rising above and 
obliterating the banks and in an incredibly 
brief time so covering the wide expanse of sands 
that we were isolated and lone, apparently float- 
ing upon the face of the great deep. It was a 
singular and impressive sight, this mighty on- 
slaught, this magic talcing j^ossession of space by 
a mysterious, resistless and overwhelming force 
and power. One is awed and silenced by this ex- 
hibition of resistless and commanding power, — 
this fiat of the unseen, — which makes men, by 
contrast, seem so puny and feeble. Instinctively 
one thinks of those wonderful commands, " Let the 
waters under the heaven be gathered together unto 
one place ; " and later in the workVs history, of 
the waters none the less uncontrollable than this 
rushing flood, answering immediately to the Divine, 
''Peace be still." One may sit for hours upon 
this terrace, simply entranced and fascinated by 
the surrounding scene. It is so lifted up in air 
that it is like floating quietly along in a balloon. 
The battlements afford a most charming prom- 
enade, overlooking the sands and the sea upon 
one side, while upon the other, built against the 



184 FRANCE. 

steep rock, is a pyramidal pile of houses above 
houses with tiny terraced gardens and balconies. 
A single street at foot of the pile, within the forti- 
fications, suffices for the traffic of the town. The 
ascent from the base to the cathedral roof involves 
some six hundred and sixty-two steps,— a wearisome 
climb. A strange history enhances the interest 
Originally a pagan sanctuary, then a Benedictine 
Abbey, founded in 709 by command of the Arch- 
angel Michael ; a prison during the RevolutioE 
and now a museum belonging to the State, which 
is now restoring, at enormous outlay, the cathedral 
pile. IJp and up one passes, until, quite out of 
breath, is reached a lofty donjon, and two great 
towers with arched entrance to a wide staircase of 
stone called the Abbot's, by which ascent is made to 
the church. The nave and transepts are of massive 
and heavy Norman character, but were so blocked 
up with scaffoldings and building material in use 
for the extensive and costly restorations that there 
was little to be seen. But the choir of pointed 
Gothic was lovely, with its lofty clerestory win- 
dows, its surrounding aisle or passage, and its 
dainty little chapel. A spiral staircase of fifty-five 
steps leads to the roof where, surrounded by flying 
buttresses and dainty pinnacles, one looks way off 
upon the shimmering waters and the surrounding 
shores. Far above appears the ^^lace staircase,'' 
with delicately carved and dainty open-work balus- 
trade of marble. As usual the cicerone gave us 
too brief a time, yet a day there would not have 
fully satisfied us. This roof and the platform and 



**IN PERIOULO MARIS." 185 

terrace in front of the cathedral, are the on|y 
points of satisfactory lookout, at present. Be- 
neath the choir is a magnificent crypt with nine- 
teen massive columns, each twelve feet in diameter, 
where stood the black Virgin in 1793. The great 
adjoining convent called " La Marveille,'' is an 
enormous pile (246 X 108), one part being three 
stories and another two, in height One had a 
large apartment for the distribution of alms to the 
poor, — above it was the refectory, ^^one of the 
finest Gothic halls in France," while above this was 
the dormitory of the monks, an exquisite apartment, 
the sides of which were lined with narrow lancet 
windows. The other portion has a spacious cellar, 
over it the ^' Salle de Chevaliers," a noble hall 
some ninety-two feet in length, with three rows of 
columns and vaulted ceiling and a gallery upon 
one side ! Above this are the cloisters, which, 
with the roof of the choir, form the most beautiful 
and richly decorated portion of the whole build- 
ing. The gay tiled roof of the pretty cloisters is 
supported by a double row of delicate, pointed 
arches, placed in such a way that the inner and 
outer rows alternate, each arch supported by slight 
slender columns of granite with dainty capitals. 
In the spandrils are the loveliest studies of flowers 
and foliage, also delicately and exquisitely sculpt- 
ured in stone, above which is a cornice of flowers. 
It may be of interest to note that it is eighty-one 
by forty-five feet in size, and has two hundred and 
twenty polished columns, for it gives some idea of 
its extent and beauty. The effect of this quiet 



186 



FRANCE. 



sunny quadrangle, lifted high in air, is wonder- 
fully beautiful and unique, — the vistas of the two 
rows of outer columns delicate and exquisite, while 
the outlook from a balcony or window at one end 
over the blue, blue sea, is a dream of loveliness. 
There was much climbing up and going down and 
proportionate fatigue. In the cellars are the pris- 
ons and frightful dungeons with prisoners' chains 
still attached to the walls, and a dark horrible 
vaulted place where any one obnoxious to the au- 
thorities was confined and left to die, or, as they say, 
^' oubliette," — forgotten. It is said that during the 
Eevolution it was made a prison, and, among others, 
some three hundred aged priests were confined until 
their deaths. In one cellar was a curious immense 
wide wheel, in which twelve men, walking inces- 
santly, drew up by rope, etc. , supplies of all kinds, 
from the base of the rock. 

Since 1874 it has been a " Monument Histo- 
rique,'' like Carcasonne, belonging to and cared for 
by the State. Alas ! we did not have time enough ! 
for there was such a succession of pictures, quaint 
and beautiful, and always the golden Greve or the 
blue waters of the sea. It was a never-failing 
amusement to watch the peasants, like flocks of 
veritable sand-pipers, hurrying over or picking 
upon the sands. In the famous kitchen, on the 
level of the street, where above, a bed of burning 
logs and glowing coals, a spit with chickens, joints, 
etc., slowly revolves, simmers and sputters until 
" done to a turn,'' we bade pretty Madame Pou- 
lard ^' good-bye," passed down the narrow street. 



" IN PERICULO MARIS. 187 

through the stone-portals and along the broad 
walk to the coach waiting upon the causeway. 

The sunlight flooded the tawny walls and gilded 
the cathedral heights, — the wind blew strong and 
fresh across the yellow sands, as sorrowfully and 
reluctantly we were borne rapidly away from the 
unique grouping, the quaint beauty and the roman- 
tic charm embodied in '^'^Mont St. Michel," which, 
like an aged sentinel, stands solitary and alone, far 
out from the coast, always ^' in periculo maris," — 
'^ in danger of the sea." 



STJBSTANOE AND SHADOW. 

DES KOCHEES — LAGAEAYE — MAIi^^TEKOK. 

Immediately after onr arrival at Vitre^ we took 
a carriage, and leaving the ancient town with its 
quaint irregular streets and picturesque overhang- 
ing houses until the morrow, passed at once into 
the blessed country. Brittany is very beautiful, 
being very undulating, densely wooded and highly 
cultivated, with here and there a stately chateau, 
a gray tower or village, and a great multitude of 
slate and thatched-roofed stone cottages. Nor- 
mandy is more level and monotonous, but there is 
a peculiar and irresistible charm in long straight 
lines, whether of verdant fields or stiff rows of 
quaint poplars. Along the route of the day, we 
noticed numerous balls or bosses of mistletoe in 
the oak and apple trees, a reminder that once the 
Druids occupied this land. But now we were on 
a pilgrimage bent, no less than a visit to the house 
of Madame Sevigne. Our course lay along the 
highway, across the beautiful country for some 
four miles, and then turning, came by a gradual 
ascent, lined by gray terrace walls, to a park en- 
trance ushering at once upon a level plateau, and 
we were close to that we had so desired to see, an 
ancient French chateau, with surrounding grounds 

188 



SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW. 189 

in perfect order. Along one side of a great level 
stretch of greensward stood a fine stone farm- 
building. At the farther end, in shape of an L, 
was the Chateau de Eochers, an aged, gray, pictur- 
esque pile, with steep-pitched roofs and dormers, 
and the conical-roofed towers inseparable from 
these old structures. At one end, but detached, 
was the cha]3el, an octagonal structure like a 
great dome, built by Christopher de Coulanges, 
Abbot of Livry, maternal uncle of Madame de 
Sevigne, he who was termed in her letters " the 
very kind one.'' A maid opened the door and we 
stepped at once into an imposing octagonal apart- 
ment with a lofty domed roof, ornamented with 
fleur-de-lys. The furnishings were simple, the 
covers being of red velvet. Opposite the entrance 
door was the altar with pictures, etc., of which she 
wrote '' I have on my altar, a painting represent- 
ing the Holy Virgin, a crucifix and my inscription 
' Soli Deo.'' The first mass was said in it Sunday, 
December 15th, 1675. 

A tall wrought-iron gateway, between the 
chapel and the chateau, opens upon the gardens 
with tlie park beyond, laid out by Le Notre, who 
planned the city of Washington. Although stiff 
and formal in arrangement and perfectly level in 
surface, it is a beautiful sight with its immense 
flower borders and solid plots of color, its lime 
tree walks and four huge symmetrical and mag- 
nificent Cedars of Lebanon planted in 180G. 
Through the centre is a wide, straight, gravelled 
avenue, lined upon either side with boxes holding 



190 



FRANCE. 



large and venerable orange trees. Half way down 
this path is the sundial, with inscription by 
Madame de Sevigne, — '' Ultimam time." (Fear 
the last one). The end of this walk, made semi- 
circular in shape by the terrace wall, is called the 
Place Coulanges. Two paving stones set in the 
ground indicate where one stands to interrogate 
" the echo of Madame deSevigne," which she des- 
ignated as a ^^ little repeater of words mounting up 
to the ears." The walks and drives in the park 
beyond were named by her, and beautiful walks 
between and beneath perfectly straight rows of 
lime trees, quaintly trimmed (square) on outside, 
are of her time. It seems almost as if the dainty 
creature might step at any moment from the 
chateau and walk in the almost unchanged scene. 
By a wide gravelled pathway to the right of gate- 
way, we passed the entire length of the chateau 
to a huge corner tower with pointed conical roof. 
A couple of steps led to an open French window 
through which we passed into the apartment of 
Madame de Sevigne, filled with furniture and bric- 
a-brac belonging to or used by her, — a sort of 
memorial shrine. Had we known, our impulse 
would have been to have taken off our shoes. It 
is a large square apartment, with lofty ceiling with 
heavy beams, profusely ornamented in colors and 
with her initials interwined with a knotted cord or 
rope, — symbolical of widowhood. An elaborate 
fifteenth century chimney-piece or mantel is also 
richly decorated in gold and colors. A bed, with 
canopy and coverlet of yellow satin and chairs of 



SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW. 191 

same, embroidered by her daughter, the Countess 
of Grignan ; a bureau ; a long glass-case with her 
account books ; (Nov. 1, 1871), a washstand and in 
the corner, a little dressing-table with brushes and 
articles of toilet in scarlet enamel with painted flow- 
ers, all once used by her, with upon the wall a fine 
full-length portrait of her, complete the furnish- 
ings, save before the deep embrasure of a window, 
wherein she sat and penned the incomparable 
letters, stands a writing-table. It was a strange 
sensation to sit down in the same place and make 
our feeble notes, just two hundred and fifty years 
afterwards. Her family became extinct with her 
childless son. The present owners and occupants 
are in no wise connected with her, the property 
having been acquired by purchase, but this 
" Green Cabinet," with all these relics of that 
gentle, gifted woman, are as religiously preserved 
as if the heirlooms of their own family. We sat 
there and thought of callow days, when in course 
of study we talked with girl friends of '^ the 
Letters," and wondered if a perusal of them in 
these later years would shatter the old-time vase. 
Methinks, though, the '' scent of the roses would 
hang round it still." We strolled out in the gar- 
dens and lingered by the rose-bordered terrace 
wall. The western sky was a glow of yellow and 
gold, flecked with tiny, fleecy clouds of gray, 
tinged with gold. The outlook was a sweeping 
one, over a great billow of a country, thickly 
wooded, with occasional peeps of chateau or vil- 
lage. There was little variety or diversity, yet it 



193 FRANCE. 

was superb, for tlie long lines were graceful and 
quieting, the hour still and holy, and our mood 
pensive and tender. 

This lovely woman, '^ chaste and true in an age 
of unchastity and treachery, frank and natural in an 
age of duplicity and precocity,'^ — the granddaughter 
of a canonized saint, the daughter of a soldier, 
and the wife of a marquis, divided the seven brief 
years of her ill-mated married life principally 
between this fine old estate and Paris and passed 
a goodly portion of the forty-five long and hap- 
pier years of her widowhood, in its quiet, peaceful 
precincts. To a devoted and ideal attachment to 
her only daughter, separated from her by marriage, 
is owing much of the world-famed correspondence, 
so rich in historical items, so full of pure maternal 
affection, all so beautifully and charmingly ex- 
pressed. An interesting writer says : — '' possessed 
of a cheerful temper, a keen insight, a ready wit 
and a hearty affection for all her friends, her 
society was courted in her time by the best and 
greatest men and women, among whom she moved 
on terms of perfect though unassuming equality. '^ 
Her pure and unsullied life closed at the Chateau 
of Grignon in Southern France, where she was 
visiting her daughter. In the choir of the col- 
legiate church of St. Saveur, adjoining the cha- 
teau terrace may be seen a black slab,, in the floor 
marking the entrance to the family vault {'' saved 
from destruction in the Revolution by removal) '% 
and to one side a white marble monument with 
the words i — 



SUBSTANCE AMD SHADOW. 193 

Here lies, 
MARIE DE RABUTIN CHANTAL 

Marchioness de Sevigne 
Deceased April 18, 1696. 



A bronze statue has been erected in the Place, 
but the best record of her, who unsullied " stood 
before kings/' lives in graceful and incomparable 
Letters. 

4: 4: 4c 4c 4: 

The remembrance of Mrs. Norton's lovely 
poem, — " The Lady of La Garaye," was freshened 
as we approached Dinan in Brittany, for in its im- 
mediate vicinity are the pitiful ruins of the chateau 
around which her graceful pen has thrown a deli- 
cate glamour of poetry, sentiment and romance. 

The afternoon of our arrival was lovely and we 
started out with glowing anticipations, explicitly 
impressing upon the good-natured, thick-headed 
coachman, our strong desire to visit " LaGaraye." 
A half dozen times as we paused at some entrance, 
we thought we were approaching it. Alas ! the 
fellow was so bent on showing us the sights of 
suburban Dinan in regular order, and so evidently 
regarded this as inferior to other attractions, that 
our visit to the ruins of La Garaye came perilously 
near being an utter failure, for, as the afternoon 
wore on, the soft dreamy atmosphere changed and 
the day closed in cloud and mist. When expostu- 
lated with, he replied with utmost suavity, — " If I 
did not show you all these places, I could not ex- 
pect a fee at the end ! ^^ A few moments took us 
13 



194 FRANCE. 

out of the little town into the open country. 
After driving two or three miles upon a highway, 
overlooking long stretches of green fields and 
woodlands^, we turned and passing through a 
rickety tumbled down gateway ;, entered upon 
a rough, neglected private road (with deep ruts 
quite equalling our country byways in spring 
time) bordered by double rows of trees upon 
either side. At the end of ten minutes of this we 
came upon two huge stone barns, a vile filthy 
barnyard and farm buildings. Passing between 
the barns the carriage stopped in an open green 
place. A hundred feet or more to the right,, like 
towers of living green, stood two square gate posts, 
heavily mantled with the omnipresent ivy, evi- 
dently once the lordly entrance to a princely 
demesne. At our left was a small antiquated farm 
gate with, ^^ It is forbidden to enter without leave, ^* 
which being translated into literal English signi- 
fied, that '^ Who enters here leaves several francs 
behind." There was no time to seek a concierge 
or ask permission, for the leaden sky was already 
distilling moisture and the prospect was that in 
fifteen minutes, all would be enveloped in mist. 
So without ceremony we entered, and what lay 
before us ? Neglected, ill-shapen pear and apple 
trees, ladened with fruit, with foliage brown with 
touch of autumn ; to one side a square phalanx 
of cabbage and cauliflower plants, while a mob of 
onions, potatoes, and various garden truck, and a 
wild riot of weeds filled the little garden or open 
space. But along its limit, some fifty feet away 



SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW. 195 

and overlooking it with pronounced sadness and 
melancholy reality, were tall tliick castle walls, so 
completely (with small exception) covered with 
massive bushy ivy as to reveal little trace of stone 
or support. In one place, encircled by the living 
green, was a rude, deeply cut bas-relief. From 
the impenetrable wall of glossy, sombre green, 
projected a portion of a tower, three stories in 
height, in effect similar to an oriel window, with 
sculptured bands separating or outlining each 
floor, and rich ornamentation surrounding the 
window opening. Beside it, a portion of the rich 
fa9ade, with elaborately worked window frames 
and twisting around the corner of one, as if laugh- 
ing in derision at all this ruin, of this later day and 
life of ours, a grinning and grotesque gargoyle. 
Beyond were other massive walls and round 
towers, all hidden completely by the beneficent 
ivy which covers many a wound of time in this 
fair land. Weeds, brambles, and stumj^y shrub- 
bery and tangled grass and vines made a forlorn 
and desolate jungle. The style is a ^' mixture of 
Renaissance of sixteenth century intermixed with 
Gothic ornaments.^' The last owner, " Claude 
Toiiissant, Count de la Garaye" quitted the gay 
world and converted this stately mansion into a 
hospital and both he and his Countess studied 
medicine and prepared themselves, and the Coun- 
tess became an excellent oculist. The hospital 
was destroyed during the Revolution. Both 
Count and Countess, however, died before this dis- 
astrous regime. Even their graves at Taden, a 



196 



FRANCE. 



few miles distant^ were desecrated at that time, 
so our " Murray " told us ; but Mrs. Norton's 
lovely poem threw about the old ivy-clad ruins 
the only real charm and fascination they possessed 
for us. The soft gray mist intensified the pathos 
and melancholy of the hour, so like a shadow of 
the past. With carriage closed we crept back into 
town again, the mist increasing to a gentle rain 
ere we reached our destination. 



Normandy and Brittany were already '^ of the 
past.'"* There was nothing between Chartres and 
Paris but Versailles, save the Chateau de Mainte- 
non, a half hour distant from distant Chartres by 
rail. 

We alighted at an unpretentious station and 
taking an omnibus, were in a few moments literal- 
ly dumped in an open Place in the centre of the 
town. A general market, always a picturesque 
and characteristic scene, was in full blast. Pass- 
ing through Brittany we had been much interested 
in the caps worn by the peasant women, being in- 
formed that almost every town has a distinctive 
shape or make. Although we left fair Brittany 
soon after leaving Yitre, the regime and variety 
of caps continued. This made a walk around and 
among the stalls, looking at the buxom peasants 
and their wares (and also their tvears), very amus- 
ing and interesting. Facing the Place, giving no 
suggestion of what it concealed, was a high stone 



Chateau of Maintenon 



SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW. -197 

wall with huge gateway with massive solid doors 
of wood, — the entrance to the magnificent domain 
of Maintenon. 

An old servitor in livery opened the gate and 
courteously said that the family being "^^in resi- 
dence" the private apartments of Madame de 
Maintenon could not be shown, but that we 
could see the long salon in wing erected by her 
which the present family has richly decorated and 
ornamented. While waiting for a servant to con- 
duct us, we were asked to sit down under some 
noble trees close to the entrance. The transition 
was magical. One moment the confusion and hub- 
bub of the market-place, — the next, in the midst 
of a scene of such rural beauty and architectural 
grandeur, as to seem miles away from the busy 
town. Before us was an open level place in ex- 
quisite lawn, its opposite boundary a long impos- 
ing chateau with tall steep roof and dormers, with 
at each end a round tower with conical extin- 
guisher roof, A wide portal or porte-cochere, 
above which rose a wedge-roofed tower, opened 
through the building into a stately three-sided 
court beyond. To one side, a long tw^o-story wing 
(which we were to visit) came at right angles to 
the front line where it joined a church, whicli 
seemed well-nigh a ruin. The estate was pur- 
chased by the '^ Widow Scarron " in 1G74. Four 
years later the King made it a Marquisate, and 
seven years later his marriage with Madame the 
Marchioness of Maintenon was privately solemnized 
it is said in the chapel of the chdteau. It is at 



198 FRANCE. 

present the estate of the Duke Noailles, whose 
grandfather married the niece of Madame. 

Presently a red-vested, hlue- liveried dapper 
young hutler or valet appeared and escorting us to 
the side wing ushered us, by a winding or spiral 
staircase to the second floor into a long, low, arched- 
ceiled room, more suggestive of a passage or hall 
than a '^ salon."" The walls and ceiling were richly 
colored and gilded and upon them hung, or set in, 
were portraits of ^^ Madame " and the whole line 
of ^oailles from the crusaders to the present day. 
At one end an iron grille or gate led in to a square 
cabinet, where Madame was wont to kneel and look 
into the adjoining church during Mass, without 
being seen. At the opposite end of the salon, a 
door opened into the chateau where are rooms in 
which are many pieces of the original furniture, 
besides hangings and tapestries all associated with 
Madame. As we came downstairs the attendant 
remarked that he thought if we sent in our cards, 
permission would be given to visit the environ- 
ing park. In a few moments he returned saying, 
— " Madame the Countess would be very pleased 
to have us walk in the park." It was prettily and 
gracefully done, as only, in fact, the French can do. 
We passed through the deep porte-cochere into a 
court built up upon three sides and out upon a 
level parterre brilliant with ribbon and mosaic 
beds and solid masses of color. A moat, with 
flowing water sweet and pure, surrounds the cha- 
teau and the reflection of walls and towers in the 
mirror-like surface is most fascinating. Crossing 



SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW. 199 

a bridge over it we entered the park which, with 
but slight undulation stretched out as far as eye 
could reach, with avenues, shaded roadways, great 
woods and thickets and beyond, apparently exten- 
sive forests. The unbroken stretch of richly culti- 
vated meadows in every direction, was a fair and 
beautiful sight to the country-loving eye. But 
making it totally unlike any other estate, was a 
quarter or a half of a mile from the chateau, a 
line of immense and stately arches, half ruined, 
and green here and there with ivy, — the remains 
of the unfinished aqueduct, commenced by Louis 
XIV. to furnish the fountains at Versailles with 
water. It was, however, abandoned before comple- 
tion and preference given to ^^ the hydraulic works 
at Marly, ^' and also because of its fearful cost and 
the frightful mortality among the forty thousand 
soldiers engaged in its construction, — a scandal of 
a scandalous age. After some sixty-five years a 
portion was demolished and the materials used to 
build a chateau at Crecy for Madame de Pom- 
padour. The total length would have been thirty- 
three miles. Forty semi-arches were finished, but 
only fourteen now remain. The beauty and im- 
pressiveness of these majestic imposing and silent 
arches in the midst of all this sunny and verdant 
scene, can scarcely be expressed. It all seems as 
of a far-away age, like those sombre, mysterious 
arches which stalk so solemnly and weird-like 
across the Roman Campagna. Just beyond the 
arches we caught the most effective view of all, 
of the distant chdteau, which is much more varied 



200 FRANCE. 



in outline on this than the other side, having pro- 
jecting wings, dormers and towers, while before ns 
in the water the beautiful pile was reflected, clear 
and distinct as in a mirror. It was one of the 
most beautiful and spectacular scenes of sunny- 
France, which will dwell long in our memory. 

Born in a prison ; the honored spouse for nine 
years of a kind-hearted wit and poet ; the widowed 
governess of the royal children of Madame de 
Pompadour ; the favorite, and, at last at the age of 
fifty, the wife of Louis XIV, and dying twenty- 
four years later at St. Cyr. in the home she had 
made years before for others ; — so runs the roman- 
tic story of suhstance andshadotv which is wreathed 
about and is recalled by the stately pile and lovely 
park of Maintenon. 



i 



^'THAT NOTHING BE LOST" 

ST. MALO — DINAN AND VITRE. 

Walled towns are not so numerous, even in 
Europe, that the conscientious sight-seer can afford 
to pass one, especially one altogether so fine and 
interesting as St. Malo off the coast of Brittany. 
Originally an island, with the handsome gray 
machicolated walls rising directly from the water, 
it has of late years been shorn of much of its dis- 
tinctive and isolated character by the construction 
of a causeway some five hundred feet in width 
which connects it with the mainland, and at same 
time forms one boundary of a commodious artificial 
harbor. 

The railway station is one half or three quarters 
of a mile from the gates of the walls, and the drive 
from them joasses a gay casino and close to the 
fortifications an ancient castle, now a barrack, 
with four huge towers with a lovely garden, brilliant 
with flowers, and pleasant with walks and resting- 
places. Our approach to St. Malo for some time 
was charming, for it was at a glorious sunset hour, 
and the trees, sjiires and picturesque piles of roofs 
of the country traversed, stood out like purple 
silhouettes against the golden, cloud-flecked sky. 
We were driven in the early dusk along the Sillon 

201 



202 FRANCE. 

or connecting link, and entering the gates were 
taken to the Hotel de France, interesting as in- 
corporating the old mansion of the Chateaubriand 
family, in which Chateaubriand was brought up, 
although born in a home facing another street. 
Our windows overlooked the front court, upon an 
old portal surmounted by the heraldic arms of the 
family with antique statues upon either side. 
But for the contiguous city walls, the rear windows 
would have commanded a peerless view over the 
broad blue waters and wonderful archipelago of 
rocky islands, great and small. The beautiful en- 
circling ramparts or walls of the sixteenth century 
afford a charming walk, almost entirely around the 
city. The remarkable rise and fall of the tides of 
water, ordinarily from twenty-three to twenty-six 
feet, and in the spring-time often as much as 
forty-eight feet, give great variety and contrast to 
the outlook from the walk which follows the sum- 
mit of the walls; for when the water is low, broad 
smooth stretches of sand, innumerable rocks and 
islets appear, but when the tide is full, only a broad 
beautiful expanse of waters, with here and there 
the larger islands or mounds bristling with fortifi- 
cations or great white, angular, bare rocks, are seen. 
As one writer says : '^ St. Malo floating upon the 
water is an island, entirely unlike St. Malo stand- 
ing upon the land.^^ It is difficult to decide which 
is the finer. Perhaps the full expanse of water is 
the more beautiful, but the vast expanse of sands, 
with the dull heavy rocks and the multitude of 
people crossing to and fro is the more interesting. 



" THAT NOTHING BE LOST." 203 

Certainly, there is no fortified seaport town that 
will comi:)are with it in picturesqueness of detail 
or environment. Within the town the streets are 
necessarily narrow and irregular, with tall four and 
five story houses. One vista along the line of a 
narrow shadowy street, ending with the fine tall 
spire of the cathedral, is very beautiful. Some 
streets are bright with shops full of Breton em- 
broideries, jewels and metal work. But the charm 
of the town is the walls, the view from which is 
so enchanting and varied, one rarely wearies. 
One morning the beauty of the scene, with the 
broad waters in some directions a sapphire blue, 
wonderful to behold : in others a lovely chryso- 
prase green most fascinating and enchanting, and 
along the horizon a broad line of most peculiar 
and beautiful purjjle, was something marvellous 
and unusual. When the tide is out, the yellow 
sands at Mont St. Michel are peculiarly fascinat- 
ing and beautiful. Upon the opposite side of the 
partly artificial and partly natural harbor is St. 
Servan, a town of twelve thousand inhabitant 
with no feature one half as interesting and amus- 
ing as the way of getting there! It is difficult to 
give a correct idea of it, or the droll comical ex- 
pression of it, for there is scarcely anything to 
compare it with. If you can imagine one of the 
tall iron skeleton frames or towers, surrounded by 
a windmill often seen upon country places, en- 
larged and resting at the base upon small wheels 
fitted into grooved rails upon the river bed, and 
surmounted not by a windmill, but by a small room 



204 FRANCE. 

or cabin at a height of some forty feet, being drawn 
by machinery npon the shore from one bank to 
the other, you about have it. At low tide the 
w^hole structure and rails can be seen, and 
'^skedaddle^Ms the only word that expresses the 
droll and funny thing. But when the tide is in, 
it is entirely different, for it looks like a house, 
lifted above the water's edge by slender iron sup- 
ports, slowly crossing a stream, — a regular House- 
Boat on the STICKS ! It is called the ^' Pont 
Roulant^' and quite suggests the tall stilts of one 
corner of France and border of Spain, 

Upon the opposite cliffs of the Ranee is Dinard, 
a most fashionable resort with rocky shores which 
quite recall the Maine coast, and villas and hotels 
in great number and variety. A little steamboat 
took us there at high tide in about fifteen min- 
utes and a carriage drive of some two hours re- 
vealed many a charming view of coast and waters 
and glimpses of villas great and villas small. The 
water was so low upon our return that we landed 
at a distance and walked a long way over the de- 
lightful sands. The Island of Grand Bey, then, 
was only a great rocky mound rising from the 
level stretch. Upon the highest part is an old 
fortification or sometlimg, and upon one of the 
boldest heights, enclosed by an iron railing, is a 
small obelisk which marks the resting-place of the 
traveller writer, and politician, Chateaubriand 
(1848), chosen, we were told, by himself, but 
given by the city. It is a wild and dreary spot, 
and it is a most romantic and beautiful one, — just 



*'THAT NOTHING BE LOST." 205 

as the weather may be. With the waters calm and 
the skies serene, it is ideal ; but when the clouds 
are dark and heavy and the wind keen and chill 
and the broad waters purple almost to blackness, 
it has a solitary, a lost soullook, which is pathetic 
and pitiful. 

As we stood there the numerous islands and 
islets beyond were peculiarly fascinating, for along 
the water they showed a dark brown, higher up a 
soft terra-cotta, while their crowns were a mellow 
and creamy buff (all because of sunshine) ; very 
vividly they recalled the rocks at Marblehead Neck 
and Manchester upon the Massachusetts shore. 
They seemed to lie uj^on the surface like soft dap- 
pled, tumbled clouds, and as a bit or a combina- 
tion of color the scene equalled in that hour even 
the Bay of Naples. 

Dinan, a most quaint, picturesque and withal 
attractive little town, a favorite jilace of residence 
with the large English contingent who find com- 
fortable living cheaper upon the Continent than 
at home, can be reached from St. Malo by small 
steamboat upon the River Ranee, a delightful 
journey, it is said, between well-wooded and pic- 
turesque banks. The time of sailing being regu. 
lated by the tide, and neither time nor tide hav 
ing ever been known to wait for man or tourist, 
and neither in this instance accommodating 
us, we fell back upon the railway which in two 
hours brought us to Dinan. The country tra- 
versed was beautifully diversified in surface and 



306 FRANCE. 

thickly wooded, and had the air of great prosper- 
ity. Gray towers and here and there a chateau 
with extinguisher roofs and towers, alone break 
the continuous verdure of tree and field. At 
some stations railway cars were loading with ap- 
ples, cider being one of tlie staple productions of 
the country. All through Normandy and Brit- 
tany it was upon the tables '' ad libitum " (and 
" ad nauseam ") in place of the common wine 
usually provided. An English writer says, *^^ Ow- 
ing to a glut of apples the ' discovery was made 
that brandy could be made from cider, which has 
led to much drunkenness in Normandy. " Even 
to our passing glance it seemed as if the Normandy 
peasants were more coarse and gross, and less 
cleanly, than the same class in Brittany. The 
location of Dinan, upon the crest of a hill over- 
looking the river and valley of the Eance, is pic- 
turesque and romantic, — the old walls and towers 
interesting and an avenue which descends upon 
one side to the valley upon which face the high- 
terraced rear gardens of the homes of the better 
class, very fine. The shady boulevards upon the 
old ramparts are lovely and many of the streets in 
the crowded portion of the town extremely pic- 
turesque because many of the ancient homes are 
open timbered and built with each story project- 
ing over the one below. The vista of these narrow 
streets, especially where two or three met or 
crossed, with some of the houses forming an arcade 
and many with a tremendous topsy-turvy appear- 
ance, was an unending entertainment and delight. 



** THAT NOTHING BE LOST." 207 

The ancient Castle, once occupied by Anne of Brit- 
tany, now a prison, standing green and forbidding 
upon the edge of a ravine in the heart of the town, 
was most interesting in its construction, its high 
vaulted chapel and its superb view from battle- 
ments and old Donjon tower. A lovely drive of 
two hours or more, showed us the little hamlet of 
Lehon, with an ancient Priory, a curious old 
church and upon the heights above the remains of 
an old Castle, with a superb view of the surround- 
ing beautiful country from the ruined towers and 
walls. Truth compels us to say, however, that 
surfeited with ruins, castles and churches, we 
spent more time gathering and eating the luscious 
blackberries which grew in greatest profusion at 
their base, than upon the time-honored walls 
themselves. Farther on, in fine grounds, stands 
the Hospice des Alienes, with some six-hundred 
inmates and an ornate chapel. AVith lovely views 
at times of the roofs and towers of Dinan, and 
here and there passing through well-wooded 
country we turned citywards and drove to the 
ruins of the chateau of La Garaye, described in 
another article. 

We were five hours by rail in reaching Vitre, 
but almost two of these were passed in waits at 
different points. Although our chief object in 
stopj^ing was to visit the Chateau des Rochers, the 
home of Madame Sevigne (described elsewhere) we 
found much in the ancient town we would have 
been sorry to have lost. France is a treasure-house 
of the picturesque, while the glamour of the romau- 



208 FRANCE. 

tic and the charm of the historic, crowd its every 
nook and corner. The more the pity is it, that so 
few American tourists give any time to the hun- 
dred and one inland and characteristic towns. 
This quaint old town was a stronghold of the Prot- 
estants and was stoutly held and defended by the 
Huguenots in 1589. The ancient castle with 
machicolated walls and towers, a portion of which 
had been finely restored, while another part is used 
as a prison, is very fine and imposing. From the 
wall facing the open court is built or hung like an 
oriel window, half Italian, half Gothic in style, a 
pulpit entered by a door in rear, which is a gem. 
The castle was the home of the Lords of Tremouille, 
adherents of Protestantism, and over the gateway 
may still be seen inscribed in stone, '' Post tenehras 
spero lucem/^ an illusion, probably, to the perse- 
cutions they suffered. 

The ancient cathedral had a fine Gothic interior, 
with a multitude of chandeliers, a superbly carved 
wood pulpit and much rich stained glass and a rare 
art treasure, a Triptych, dating from the fifteenth 
century, a square panel or cabinet with hinged 
doors and some thirty-two small Limoges enamels, 
depicting scenes in the life of Christ, which is 
wonderful but not pretty. Upon the outside of the 
cathedral walls, hangs one of the curious, oriel 
window-like pulpits, overlooking the open place, 
which would indicate that street-preaching or open- 
air service is not an innovation of modern times. 

A stroll through the droll, crooked and narrow 
streets^ with many odd, irregular and projecting 



'THAT NOTHING BE LOST.'^ 209 

house fronts, timbered and sculptured fagades, 
queer little balconies, outside staircases, arcades, 
and a general appearance of having been tumbled 
together promiscuously, is most amusing and en- 
tertaining. It was evident we were out of the 
beaten track of summer travel, for not a word of 
English fell upon our ears from the rising of the 
sun until the setting thereof, 
H 



TWO CATHEDEAL TOWNS. 

CHAETEES — EHEIMS. 

Two more Cathedrals^ Chartres and Kheims, in 
all their glorious beauty, stately grandeur and 
solemn significance, were to open like a sumptu- 
ously illustrated volume before us, ere our wander- 
ings in France were ended. Fain would we have 
included Amiens, with its elaborately sculptured 
faQade and its magnificent and well-nigh peerless 
interior, but for the inexorable limit there is to all 
things, especially sight-seeing. The numberless 
charming photographs of these later years are 
educational, and one unconsciously grows so fa- 
miliar with various edifices that the sight of them, 
loses in novelty but gains in appreciation and un- 
derstanding. We made, of course, no pretence of 
studying them. Time was too brief and crowded 
for that. We simply gave up entirely to the enjoy- 
ment of the exquisite details, the wonderful daring 
and patience of construction — the esthetic beaut}'" 
of form and color, and the romantic, poetical and 
spiritual suggestion of these marvellous houses of 
heavenly inspiration although made with hands. 

Our approach to Chartres, a dull foggy afternoon 
although through a country teeming with reminis- 
cences of the last war, and our arrival, travel worn 

210 



TWO CATHEDRAL TOWNS. 211 

and tired at early dusk, with the wind keen and chill, 
and the air cold and penetrating, was not enliven- 
ing, to say the least. But upon the morrow the sun 
was bright, the sky clear and the air delightfully 
warm, and as we looked above the roofs of the 
opposite buildings of the town, the two dissimilar 
towers of the cathedral bade us a cheery good- 
morning. Chartres is a fine old town, with 
boulevards or promenades superseding the ancient 
ramparts, with one picturesque old gateway with 
huge towers. Soon we were '^ confronted with the 
minster's vast repose,^' face to face with the mag- 
nificent structure which had drawn us thither. An 
open space upon three sides gives a very satisfac- 
tory view of the remarkably fine edifice, with very 
plain western fa9ade, with most elaborately orna- 
mented portals and at each corner the wonderful 
towers of unequal height, one rising crocketed, 
massive and comparatively simple to a height of 
three hundred and forty feet, while the other, 
stately, ornate, elegant and grand, soars away with 
lacelike delicacy to a height of three hundred and 
seventy-one feet. The latter is unusually delicate 
and graceful, and the manner in which it changes 
from square to octagonal, with exquisite traceried 
windows and slender flying buttresses, and springs 
into a tapering spire, is marvellous. Ferguson says 
it is ^' the most beautifully designed spire on the 
Continent," surpassing those of Strasbourg, 
Vienna and Antwerp, in elegance " of outline and 
appropriateness of design. '' Against outside walls 
of nave rises a line of massive turrets, while from 



212 FRANCE. 

tliem round arched flying buttresses, with spokes 
like those of a wheel, spread over the roof of the 
aisles. The most unusual feature, is a side portal, 
consisting of three Gothic porches, the central 
one projecting, with clustered pillars and beauti- 
ful openings all lined with statues, which appear 
originally to have been gilded. The thought and 
sentiment of worship are so floridly and gracefully 
expressed in stone, that they seem like little tem- 
ples of themselves. It was of this that Lowell 
wrote : — 

" I stood before the triple northern port, 
Where dedicated shapes of saints and kings, 
Stern faces bleared with immemorial watch, 
Look down benignly grave and seemed to say, 
• Ye come and go incessant ; we remain 
Safe in the hallowed quiets of the past ; 
Be reverent, ye who flit and are forgot, 
Of faith so nobly realized as this.' " 

It was a joy to simply stroll around the great 
stately pile all glowing with sunshine, — to look 
breathlessly up at the exquisitely carven and open 
towers against the bluest of skies, and to linger at 
our own sweet will, wherever any combination 
seemed peculiarly striking or beautiful. It was 
not study y it was simple enjoyment, yet something 
lasting came into mind and heart, to go not out 
again. It seemed to us, the ^^tout ensemble, ^^ of 
the interior, as we entered by transept door and 
looked diagonally towards the nave, taking in the 
lofty roof intersection, a great rose window, a 
forest of columns and arches, with glimpses of 
glowing tints from windows in the aisles, surpassed 



Interior Chartres Cathedral 



TWO CATHEDRAL TOWNS. 213 

any one effect we had ever seen. The French ca- 
thedrals are profusely ornate and florid and con- 
sequently devoid of the sombre, impressive gran- 
deur of the English Minsters. An unusual and 
exquisite feature of this interior, which quite re- 
calls in a certain way. the Spanish cathedrals, is a 
superbly and elaborately sculptured screen, separ- 
ating the choir from the aisles. This tall partition, 
where it faces the aisles, is a Gothic structure with 
some forty pictures or scenes sculptured in stone, 
framed in by such delicate traceries as to justify 
the commonplace comment of another, — ^*^ point 
lace in stone." Some of the details are so fine, 
slender and frail, one wonders how they could have 
been chiselled in stone. The secret probably is, 
that the material like '^ Caen-stone," is very soft 
when first quarried and easy to w^ork upon, 
while it hardens rapidly by exposure, for marble 
could scarcely be so sculptured. The groups 
represent scenes in the life of Christ and the never- 
failing Virgin. The interior is breathless in its 
vastness and harmonious proportions, while the 
whole building is singularly sumptuous and rich. 
A writer says ; — '^ The origin and splendor of this 
cathedral are owing to the circumstance that it 
was the earliest and chief church in France dedi- 
cated to the Virgin, and thus the object of vast 
pilgrimages." It is said the Druids worshipped the 
statue of a black woman, — ''A maiden who should 
bear a child," which stood in the crypt when this 
Christian temple superseded their worship, which 
was burned in 1793 when the structure was sacked. 



314 FRANCE. 

In the aisle is a gorgeous chapel of the Black Vir- 
gin and child, called the '' Vierge du Pilier/' of 
the fifteenth century. Yet in the crypt another 
is shown. One or the other, though, wore the 
" bonnet rouge " in the Eevolution. In the 
centre of the nave in the pavement is a most curi- 
ous labyrinth or maze of colored marble lines, 
following which one would walk nine hundred and 
sixty-seven feet, — a " penitential path for worship- 
pers,^^ with large blocks or stations at intervals 
^' corresponding to the beads of a rosary." 

Beneath the choir is the crypt, a succession 
of small shrines in decorated chapels, within the 
centre, lighted by numerous hanging lamps, the 
chapel and image of ^' Notre Dame de Sous 
Terre." After we had thoroughly inspected the 
wide and lofty nave and transepts, the great cler- 
estory windows surmounted by large wheel or 
circular windows filled with glorious and wonder- 
ful painted glass of the thirteenth century and the 
multitude of charming details of chapels and 
ornamentation, it was peculiarly restful to sit 
quietly during Vespers and hear the intoning of 
the service with occasional burst of organ music, 
and watch the shadows gather in the lofty arches 
and the late sunlight making the windows gleam 
and glow like a multitude of precious gems. 

Ere we left the city we stepped in for a moment- 
ary and farewell glance. The choir was draped' 
with black velvet and silver ; a temporary altar 
and catafalque covered to correspond ; richly robed 
choristers and priests filed slowly in, followed by 



TWO CATHEDRAL TOWNS. 215 

uplifted casket burdened with flowers ; and a mo- 
ment later choristers were chanting in sad minor 
chords a '^ last of earth " service most mournfully 
and effectively. And the light streaming through 
the mellow glass lay in bars and slants of glorious 
hues upon it all^ as though there was no sorrow or 
death from whence it came. 



Rheims is of such historic interest and architec- 
tural splendor that one cannot willingly leave it 
unvisited. To reach it involved our return to 
Paris and a railway journey beyond, of three hours. 
To our inexpressible delight, our windows looked 
directly upon the superb and ornate western fa- 
cade and the two massive towers of the wonderful 
Cathedral and we could sit and just look and looh 
by the hour with the usual wonderment that man 
ever thought of the design or dared to attempt its 
execution : — with the usual dreamy indescribable 
influence of all these wondrous architectural forms 
asserting itself and with, alas ! the usual inability 
to grasp or fix the emotions and impressions of the 
hour. One may hear prolonged music, which 
may move the very soul and uplift the spirit above 
the fogs and mists of earth, and be unable to ex- 
press the thought and emotion inspired, — yet be 
the better for the influence. So Avith these magni- 
ficent and overwhelming thoughts in stone. The 
only disappointment was in the very dilapidated 
and disintegrated condition of much of the ex- 
quisite sculpturings and statuettes, of whicli the 



216 FRANCE. 

pliotograplis give little idea. Like a great fantas- 
tic frost-work (not tuliite however) or heavy lace- 
like embroidery, the West facade rises, with the 
grime of centuries lying like heavy shadows upon 
it. It is called, — " One of the noblest and most 
magnificent examples of the early Gothic " and is 
also declared by Ferguson (and he hnoius) to be 
'' perhaps the most beautiful structure produced 
in the Middle Ages.^^ How glorious it is ! As 
one sits and gazes dreamily at it, he feels it as one 
would a triumphal " Te Deum,^^ elevating the 
thought and uplifting the soul. It ceases to be 
stone, it becomes a chorus of exultant voices 
chanting the praise of the Divine. The west fa- 
9ade is indescribable. The plain facts and details 
may be noted, but that will not portray it. Three 
deeply recessed portals are thickly covered with 
exquisitely sculptured statues, there being in fact 
some five hundred and thirty in all upon this 
matchless fa9ade. Above looms a superb rose- 
window forty feet in diameter, — higher up an open 
gallery with statues and groups and at each cor- 
ner a stately majestic open tower with turrets rises 
to a height of two hundred and sixty-seven feet 
from the base. Originally they were surmounted 
by spires, but these were burned in 1480, — twelve 
years before Columbus discovered our blessed land. 
From every side the picture is striking, majestic, 
and sublime. Along the sides, resting upon but- 
tresses are turrets like little temples protecting 
statues, while flying buttresses and an open gal- 
lery along the roof edge, add to the imposing 



TWO CATHEDRAL TOWNS. 217 

effect. The apsiclal eastern end with grotesque 
gargoyles and statues, is most picturesque. The 
interior is awe-inspiring and solemn with arches 
and columns and wide nave, stretching away in the 
soft-tinted atmosphere, a distance of four hundred 
and fifty-three feet. It is, however, very simple, — 
rich thirteenth century stained windows and valu- 
able ancient tapestries upon the side walls giving 
the only notes of color. The vista of the interior 
looking from the eastern end, is most unusual, 
the whole wall presenting a succession of niches 
with small statues, etc., ending with the superb 
rose- window, a blaze of richest colors. In the ad- 
joining Sacristy or Treasury a collection of jewel- 
led ornaments for the altar, an exquisite cabinet 
of gold, enamel and crystal containing the little 
bottle of the inexhaustible " holy 011,^"* the sac- 
red '^ Ampoule ^^ were shown. Baedeker says : — 
''It was the possession of the Sainte Ampoule 
which probably led to the choice of the cathedral 
as the coronation place for the Kings of France : 
and within its walls the Archbishops of Rheims 
as Primates of the Kingdom have crowned almost 
without exception, the successive occujoants of the 
throne from 1173 downwards. Henry IV., who 
was crowned at Chartres, — Napoleon I., who was 
crowned at Paris, and Louis XVIII. and Louis 
Philippe, who were not crowned at all, are the 
only French " monarchs who, since that date, have 
not been anointed with the miraculous oil." Ad- 
joining the cathedral is the Archbishop's palace 
with the hall in which the Coronation banquets 



218 FRANCE. 

were given. Nothing however, gave the pleasure 
the outlook from our windows afforded, especially 
when the atmosphere was mellow and hazy, when 
the great structure rose with a mystical and un- 
earthly effect, quite overwhelming to mind and 
sense. 

Rarely is seen in this opulent land, anything 
more beautiful than the Tomb of St. Remi, in the 
choir and behind the high altar of the Abbey 
Church of the same name, said to be the most an- 
cient ecclesiastical building in Rheims. As it has 
been restored three times it is in perfect condition 
and is in form of an exquisite temple of colored 
marbles with columns, sculptured ornaments, and 
a dozen or more marble statues. The church has 
graceful arcades, columns, beautiful marble screens 
around the choir, and tapestries upon the walls, 
and is of extreme interest. 



From '' cathedral's vast repose" and abbey's 
peaceful shades to champagne cellars, undoubtedly 
is a long step downward, but they constitute one 
of the most important sights of Rheims, it being in 
the centre of the best champagne country. Its 
vine-clad environing hills yield in the end, a de- 
plorable harvest. We drove out of town to one of 
the largest establishments, that of the Widow 
Pommery (the "Veuve Pommery" of commerce) 
where extensive and handsome structures form 
quite a village. The most peculiar and interesting 
feature is the underground caves or cellars of im- 



TWO CATHEDRAL TOWNS. 319 

mense extent, cut out of the solid but soft rock. 
Originally extensive caves were excavated in these 
hillsides for some unknown purpose by the Romans. 
For many years much building material was quar- 
ried from them, thereby enlarging greatly the area. 
Some thirty years ago they were taken for the 
storage and ripening of champagne, and now a sub- 
terranean city, commodious and extensive has been 
laid out far beneath the surface. Some one hun- 
dred and twenty-five steps lead to depths where 
wide streets or lofty passages named for various 
European and American cities, illuminated by 
electric lights, stretch out bewilderingly in every 
direction, intersecting frequently spacious rotun- 
das with domed roofs and skylights. The rock- 
lined walls of some of these rotundas are frequent- 
ly carved in huge colossal bas-reliefs, representing 
various classic and bacchanalian revels and legends, 
quite in keeping with the industry they house. 
Otherwise the walls and high arched roofs are plain, 
and without artificial light would be dark as mid- 
night. Along either side are thousands of bottles 
of champagne in various stages of preparation. In 
one long: street nine hundred thousand bottles 
were standing upside down, quite suggesting their 
ultimate effects. The appalling number of thirty 
millions of bottles were thus stored. The fresh 
juice is brought in casks direct from the vineyards, 
drawn off in immense tuns, then bottled and stands 
perfectly still for three years, then every bottle is 
reversed daily for a year, so that no sediment can 
adhere to the bottom or sides of bottle ; then each 



S20 FRANCE. 

bottle is opened, allowing tlie foreign matter (whicli 
is then next to cork) to escape and then a small 
quantity of syrup or ^^ liquor" is put in and the 
final cork driven in place when again they are 
stood aside for three years, before ready for sale. 

In one of the buildings is seen the final process 
of preparation for market, of the wrapping of necks 
in tinfoil, the labelling, putting in straw cases 
and at last in baskets. Each bottle in this last 
preparation, passed like clockwork through six 
hands. When two layers have been put in baskets, 
the men actually jump with full weight upon them, 
and a fresh relay sew the baskets up with twigs. 

It is all curious and interesting, but appalling ! 
One wonders almost, what use there is to try to 
stem the current to which it contributes. Stand- 
ing there in the glamour of the sunset hour, what 
wonder was it, in view of this ceaseless, tireless 
activity, that the distant stately cathedral seemed 
dormant or wellnigh comatose, its influence, pur- 
pose and work wellnigh neutralized by the world- 
wide sway and result of this destructive manu- 
facture. 



i 



TEN DAYS 

IN 

SOUTHERN FRANCE. 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 

BIARKITZ — PAU, ETC. 

'' The King is dead ! " Spain with its fascinat- 
ing old cities, its Moorish legacies and its won- 
derful Murillos, was already out of sight — a 
memory, — a thing of the past ; " Long live the 
King \" "La belle France," in new and unfa- 
miliar guise surrounded us. One always so thinks 
of a]3proaching it by one of the Channel routes, or 
direct from Germany or Switzerland or by the 
Mediterranean port of Marseilles, that entering it 
at the extreme, obscure southwest corner and set- 
tling as it were, at once in lovely Biarritz, is quite 
like coming into some fine old mansion, not by the 
stately front colonnade or portico, but by a back or 
side doorway ! We might have glided from one 
to the other quite unconsciously, but for the per- 
emptory change and customs examination at Hen- 
daye. The railway journey of an hour to Ne- 
gresse, the junction or "point of embarkation" 
for Biarritz some two miles distant, was unevent- 
ful, the only place of importance upon the route be- 
ing " St. Jean de Luz," a little seaport, whose baths 
and old royal chateaux of the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries we fain would have visited. The 
country already looked differently ; — the train. 

223 



224 FRANCE. 

sped along more rapidly and it was another peo- 
ple, more quick and alert, upon whicli we looked. 
Twenty minutes in a ^'^bus'''' over a white dusty 
road, but through a pretty country and past many 
embowered villas, brought us to charming Biar- 
ritz, a most picturesque and ideal watering-place. 
" Can any place be more charming ? " we ex- 
claimed again and again as we sat by our windows 
aud looked over the tumbled grotesque rocks, the 
rolling dazzling surf, towards the broad expanse 
of the sea or along the rocky Spanish coast, with, 
in the extreme distance the white cloud-like Sier- 
ras, — or loitered in the streets with brilliant little 
shops more than half Spanish and but little French. 
It is the Bay of Biscay, but to all intent and ap- 
pearance, the boundless sea, with its horizon- 
limited blue waters, and the ceaseless roar and 
play of surf. Our hotel was lifted high upon a 
point and it was curious to note the perfect con- 
trast in the outlook from either side. One looked 
down upon a semicircular cove and the great 
rollers breaking over it. Beyond upon the rising 
shore, was the old Villa of the Empress Eugenie, 
who, when she ascended the throne, forgot not the 
humble seaside resort of her earlier days, but by 
her presence and patronage elevated it to a popu- 
lar watering-place. The handsome villa, never in 
harmony with the surroundings, has been trans- 
formed and enlarged into a palatial hotel, with 
lovely and extensive grounds, — while in seclusion 
the beautiful Empress livm out her littl©, (object- 
less life in rural Englgtnd.. By a strange coinci- 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 225 

dence, however, she holds to-day a lovely villa at 
Cape St. Martin on the French Riviera. Beyond, 
the rocky forbidding coast, bounds on and on to 
Cape St. Martin where stands a single slender 
white lighthouse. In the opposite direction, the 
scene is as different as if fifty miles away. Huge 
rocks, seamed and torn by ceaseless waves and 
terrific storms, lie scattered about as profusely and 
carelessly as pebbles. Little bridges continue the 
pretty walks of the mainland, out to and over them. 
Strong walls of masonry formed enclosures and 
breakwaters and also propped up the great rocks 
and boulders, which otherwise from the mad beat- 
ing and ceaseless pommelling of the waves and 
breakers, would topple over. One tall mound with 
a tunnel worn through its base, is surmounted by 
a statue of Mary and the Divine Child. The 
waters lap against the rocks and when the tide 
comes in or the stiff wind blows, break in great, 
exquisite, feathery masses of whitened spray over 
them. The town is compactly built, many of the 
villas which overlook the beach being crowded 
together like a city street. But a few are de- 
tached, all, however, very unlike any seaside resort 
in our own land. Here and there beyond the town 
is seen a roof of cottage or villa, and glittering in 
the sun, the dome and ornaments of a distant 
Greek church. A telegraph and signal station 
occupies the highest point along the shore, be- 
yond which is a cove or inlet where the more timid 
people seek to disport in tlie beautiful waters. An 
exquisite picture is formed here, by the road pierc- 
15 



326 



FRANCE. 



ing the bank on one side and a picturesque villa 
with balustrades and cunningly devised grounds, 
perched upon the other, while through the gap 
are seen the waters of the great bay beyond, placid 
and serene, undisturbed by rocks and surrounded 
only by the great high banks or cliffs of gray clay 
which form the coast line. Towards the former 
Imperial villa is the smooth, shining bathing beach 
a never- wearying picture with the sands, the white 
surf, and the merry bathers. Turn away from the 
water and stroll through the principal street, and 
you will find a multitude of bright little shops 
with a better variety of Spanish conceits and bric- 
a-brac and dainty manufactures, than can be 
found in any one city in Spain. Our enjoyment 
of the strolls and the idlings among the strange 
weird rocks, beneath a sky of serenest blue and 
overlooking the vast warm expanse of Biscay^s bay, 
made the fashionable watering-place, evolved ori- 
ginally from a secluded fishing village, a most de- 
lightful experience and sunny memory. 

We were indebted to that most fascinating book 
of local travel, '' In the Shadow of the Pyrenees, 
for any knowledge of the celebrated '^^Eefuge for 
Magdalens,^' and the settlement of the " Silent 
Nuns,'^ both at Anglet, about midway between 
Biarritz and Bayonne, some ten minutes ride by 
the train, for neither Baedeker nor Murray make 
any mention of these interesting and strange phases 
of life. If the gifted author left a pebble unturned 
or a blade of grass unnoticed, we failed to detect 
them. The truthful detail which means so much 






IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 337 

when read on the spot, like the "genre " pictures 
of the old Dutch ^^ainters, is marvellous as well as 
charming. It was a more than warm afternoon 
when Ave alighted at the station, only to find there 
was not a sign of a conveyance of any kind in 
sight. With grim humor, but with that perfect 
courtesy which marks the officers of these conti- 
nental railways, we were pleasantly told, " turn to 
the right and walk on eight or ten minutes and 
tahe it easy ! " Along a white, dusty, almost 
shadeless highway we walked (because we could do 
nothing else) till on our right, away from the road, 
we saw a goodly j)ile of buildings ; innocently 
turning away from the road and across a meadow, 
we were met, when we had almost reached the 
group, by an aged sister, tidily attired in dull blue 
with white apron and head-gear, who demurely 
took us round to the front, by the road, to an open 
place, faced by a church, and several large and 
small buildings. At the porter's lodge we were 
committed to the care of another sister, of uncer- 
tain age, but attractive face and agreeable man- 
ners, who to our amusement^/'s/^ conducted us to 
the salesroom — which was perfectly character- 
istic, where was quite a display of embroidered 
linen and wearing ap^iarel ; then to the church, 
which had a fine interior with high altar daintily 
adorned with pots of floweriiig plants. In the 
subdued light, the penitential figures kneeling 
here and there, were pathetic and appealing. 
From there, to the gardens and conservatories, 
which were in perfect order, and full of fruit-trees, 



228 FRANCE. 

blossoming plants and growing vegetables. Some 
of the penitents were digging and preparing the 
earth ; some sat in the little groves sewing, while 
in the laundry several of the blue and white robed 
fraternity were ironing the various articles of a 
superb ^' trousseau/' ordered from them. Set in 
the garden wall was a stone faQade with three 
statues, and projecting from it an iron porch or 
framework supporting a glass roof and sides. Be- 
neath this protecting structure,, covered by a white 
marble slab, was the grave of the good " Abbe 
Cestoe," the founder in 1839, of this beneficent 
work for the unfortunate. Through his patience, 
skill and knowledge, a large tract of land, barren 
when he purchased it, is now a smiling and fertile 
farm. All around were fertile fields in fine con- 
dition with many women at work and several men 
ploughing in them. We did not see any of the 
rooms, nor the piggery nor barn-yards of the book. 
The work seems comprehensive, for not only peni- 
tents, but old people are cared for and children 
taught in the schools. 

It was a hot and dusty walk to the Bernardines, 
House of Silence, a good quarter of a mile distant. 
It led to a private road of deep sand, and plodding 
through it as best we could, we came to a short 
avenue of plane trees (commonly called with us 
^^ sycamore " or '^^ button-ball '') which ushered us 
into a densely shaded garden-enclosure with num- 
berless flowers in profuse bloom and numerous 
magnolia, evergreen and monkey trees. Along a 
wall at the limit was a row of hot-houses. A great 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 329 

black gate opened into their ^^ God's Acre ^' or as 
the sister said, *^ beyond the black doors/^ A 
small chapel has a life-sized effigy of the Virgin in 
black flowing-robes trimmed with gold. An L, 
cnrtained off, forms the chapel for the Silent Nuns, 
where they can kneel and not be seen. In the 
garden the hideous spectres glided away or bowed 
low over their work at our approach. The element 
of the romantic and poetical and even of the pic- 
turesque, was sadly lacking in their appearance, 
for the woolen robes in which they were enveloped 
and over which was a large cape, once perhaps 
white, with a black cross showing between the 
shoulders and a hood projectiiig some inches over 
the face, and so shirred at the edge as to quite 
hide the features, were a dingy, dusky white. We 
were shown the original chapel and one of the 
wretched huts thatched with straw and with sanded 
floor, which were used up to a few years since, and 
the present refectory, a long, low, perfectly bare 
apartment with rude tables and seats, and in little 
drawers the equipment for each person, consist- 
ing of a rude brown glazed pipkin, a wooden knife 
and fork, and a napkin. An austere ''^ God only,^' 
appears over the desolation and barrenness of every 
room. One longed, out of sheer compassion, to 
change it to a '' God is Love." The sister said 
they first took vows for three years, then if they 
wished, for seven, and then for life when they 
donned the white habit. They are not allowed to 
speak to one another, but in case of emergency 
may appeal to the Mother Superior and can repeat 



230 



FRANCE. 



passages and prayers as much as tliey like. Pro- 
bably there are many repetitions, for they are 
human. — In the garden among the lovely flowers, 
is the grave of " Madeleine/^ sister of the good 
Abbe, and of two others who assisted her in found- 
ing and establishing the order. With all, it was 
intensely sad, this utter blotting out of human life, 
this vain attempt to make amends, and one thought 
of the Master^s dear words, " Go and sin no more,^' 
and felt like sounding out the promise, which 
cannot fail because the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it, '^ Though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like 
crimson, they shall be as wool,^^ as the better, 
happier, and God-given way. 

Ten minutes^ ride by rail placed us in quaint, 
interesting, half Spanish '^ Bay onne,^^ divided by 
the Adour and Nive, into Petite and' Grand 
Bayonne. The numerous bridges, shipping, large 
buildings and the '' Alices Marines/" which with 
several rows of trees stretch along for a mile beside 
the waters, make it most picturesque. It was hot, 
and we were tired, so contented ourselves with 
the view of the city, the citadel, fortress and 
cathedral, gained in a general drive of an hour or 
more. The ancient cathedral has been well re- 
stored and two stately and imposing spires added 
of late years by the generosity of a private citizen. 
The view of these lovely, graceful towers and spires, 
through the vista of a narrow irregular street, is 
exquisitely beautiful. Our return to pretty Biarritz 
was by a ''^ steam tram "which was delightful, as 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 231 

it carried us along a beautiful suburban road, past 
many fine villas and grounds and across the cool 
green fields. 



For four hours the railway train bore us through a 
beautiful country. Much of the time we seemed 
in the centre of a valley or plain with on either 
side hills bounding away to horizon, a stretch of 
living green and of the highest cultivation. But 
for the women " on a summer's day" raking '^ the 
meadow sweet with hay," and the uniformly steep 
pitched roofs of chateaux and village cottages and 
the French cognomens upon the stations and 
signs, we could have imagined ourselves in central 
Kew York. At the end of sixty miles of this, the 
train stopped and we were at '^ Pau," the birth- 
place of '' King Henry of Navarre" It was not, 
of course, the proper time of the year to see it in 
its life and glory, for it is a winter resort, but we 
did think to see its natural beauty in perfection, 
under the warm skies of June. But we were dis- 
appointed. We drove up to the elevated plateau 
upon which the town stands and hurried to the 
balconies from our rooms to catch the oft-extolled 
view. Beneath us lay a valley threaded by a rapid 
river ; quite a little settlement, and on opposite 
side, a line of lofty rolling hills covered with green 
meadows, vineyards, orchards and trees, with here 
and there peeping from cool depths, the tower, 
gable or fagade of tasteful villas. All very pretty, 
but where oh ! where ! were the famous snow- 



23^ FRANCE. 

capped Pyrenees ? A lovely haze beyond the 
green hills, finished the sky line of the picture as 
completely as if there was nothing more, and not 
once during our two or three days, sojourn was an 
unobstructed view of them given us. Once in 
the very early morning were visible the summits 
only, of the entire range, gleaming, dim, phantom- 
like and opalescent above the haze, a weird and 
most unearthly spectacle. The town looked thin 
and deserted. The front of the elevated plateau 
upon which it rests, where it faces the deep valley 
and the " Gave du Pau," is laid out in an orna- 
mental terrace for a quarter of a mile and is lined 
with palatial hotels and apartment houses, making 
a beautiful promenade. At one end of the terrace 
is the chateau or castle of '^ King Henry of 
Navarre," which dates from the fourteenth cen- 
tury and gives to the town its name, and which, save 
the view from the terrace of the valley and the 
majestic range of snow-crested Pyrenees some 
fifty miles away, is the only '' sight" it possesses. 
This old historic chdteau has been much '^restored" 
both by King Louis Philippe and the Emperor 
Napoleon III., and while it has perhaps suffered 
some loss in the appearance and nameless charm 
of old lang-syne it has doubtless gained much in 
beauty, symmetry and finish. The ground plan is 
curious, being irregular in shape. The facade to- 
wards the terrace, with richly ornamented dormers, 
cornices and balconies and a huge, rough, square 
donjon tower and tiny chapel, is very fine. The 
corresponding, or parallel wing or structure, grad- 



ChSteati of La Garaye 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 233 

ually nears the other so that the end towards the 
gardens, beyond the town, is very narrow and 
mostly composed of two massive towers. These 
two buildings enclose a wedge-shaped court, the 
fa9ades of which are superb, with beautiful carv- 
ings around windows and along cornice, exqui- 
sitely ornamented dormers and, at the narrow end, 
a mass of sculpturing from door upon ground 
floor, all the way up and ending in a dormer of 
lavish richness. The opposite and wide end of 
the court is enclosed by a richly ornamented colon- 
nade of one story, which opens toward a bridge 
spanning the ancient moat. Upon one side is the 
old donjon, upon the other the mysterious, window- 
less tower of Monte Oiseau, so called, says Baede- 
ker, '^ because there was formerly no staircase and 
in case of siege the defenders ascended into it by 
ladders which they drew up after them." Enter- 
ing the chateau at the small end of the court, 
we passed through a square hall with low groined 
ceiling, rich furniture and pictures ; then to an 
officer's large waiting-room with elegant, carved 
and leather-covered furniture, exquisite small 
chandeliers and statues. The windows, deep al- 
most as an ordinary hall bedroom, in this and 
many of the apartments, framed in lovely views 
of the surrounding landscape. Then followed a 
magnificent, long banqueting hall, hung with im- 
mense tapestries and golden chandeliers with 
carved chairs, handsome clocks, etc. All the rooms 
had richly polished floors and ceilings and furnish- 
ings of dark varnished and gilded wood, and 



234 



FRANCE. 



looked as if ready for occupancy. A heavily 
carved and ornamented staircase of stone led to a 
story above where were several rich apartments 
with superb carved and upholstered furniture^ 
mantels, enormous vases and tapestries. One, 
the salon of Margaret de Valois, was furnished 
with red embossed velvet and lovely Beauvais 
tapestries, which were as soft and delicate as water- 
colors. Up a circular staircase and we passed 
into the most interesting of all, — that in which 
King Henry was born, where it is said his grand- 
father Henri d^Albret, took the new-born babe in 
his arms " after his lips had been rubbed with 
garlic, according to the custom of Beam, poured 
down his throat some drops of Jurancon wine, the 
best the country affords, to give him a strong con- 
stitution.^^ The wonder is the new-born babe ever 
lived to finish the tale of Henry of JSTavarre and 
Ivry ! Adjoining is a large room, elegantly fur- 
nished called the bedroom of Henry IV., with a 
huge ancient bedstead found by Louis Philippe, of 
dark wood covered with panels with heads of the 
kings of France, and at one side a low platform 
covered with blue velvet and fleur-de-lis, upon 
which six golden staves with white silk flags with 
crest embroidered by the Duchess d^'Angoul^me, 
support as a pendant, an immense tortoise shell, 
the cradle of Henry of Navarre. Surmounting 
the gathering together of the staves above is a 
golden helmet, with great white ostrich plumes, 
such as he wore at Ivry. Then followed several 
handsome rooms, with tapestries, quaint and 



IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 235 

richly carved linen chests and the bedstead of 
Louis XIV. with spread and canopy of ex- 
quisite cross-stitch silk embroidery, said to have 
been executed by the young ladies of St. Cyr, 
under the direction of Mme. de Maintenon. The 
colors were fresh and the work very beautiful. It 
was a charming walk through these beautifully 
restored rooms, although everything was alarm- 
ingly fresh and clean. But after passing through 
with a promiscuous party of twelve or fifteen, with 
the faithful guide, perfunctorily " speaking his 
piece " in every one, we felt very much as though 
we would like to go over it again quietly by our- 
selves. 

Bernadotte, created King of Sweden, was a 
native of Pan, and richly has he remembered and 
emphasized the fact, by the gift of costly por- 
phyry tables, vases and mantels deposited here. 
Abd-el-Kader, that most picturesque of all pris- 
oners, was confined here, at one time, and its his- 
torical interest is brought to these later days by its 
being the residence of Queen Isabella, now de- 
posed. Within and without, from the terrace or 
tower, or from the surrounding gardens, it is beau- 
tiful, interesting and imposing. We had a most 
enjoyable drive of three hours to the hill-crest op- 
posite the terrace and the town, passing villas and 
chdteaux, and having many a lovely prospect. 
Uad the atmosphere been transparent we would 
have had a view of the Pyrenees from base to sum- 
mit, but we carried away only a memory of ])han- 
tom-like, white irlitterinG^ crests and beautiful 



236 



FRANCE. 



outline of snow-capped heights, here and there, 
above or through a haze — which, had it not de- 
feated our purpose, we would have revelled in and 
pronounced exquisite. 



A MODERN BETHESDA. 

LOURDES. 

A NEW sensation awaited ns, in a visit to 
Loiircles, which may well be termed '^ a modern 
Bethesda," since it is an indisputable fact that it 
has been for some reason or other, a place of heal- 
ing to a great multitude of impotent folk. Wish- 
ing to have abundance of time, we made it an 
excursion from Pau, which was unnecessary, for 
we could have stopped several hours, sufficient 
to have seen it all, and gone on in the afternoon 
to Toulouse. It was indeed a new sensation, 
for hitherto our thought and attention had been 
centered upon palaces, cathedrals and galleries, 
dilapidated cities, interesting countries and char- 
acteristic peoples, but now we were to stand face 
to face with one of the strangest manifestations of 
the present century. It was but an hour's journey 
from Pau, through a beautiful, highly cultivated 
hill-country, with often beyond the green-clad 
mountains, in the clouds or haze, the always weird, 
spectral, opalescent tips of the snow-crested Pyre- 
nees. All along were seen the quaint, tiled-roofed 
villages, fine arched stone bridges and many a hay- 
field made picturesque by women harvesting. 
The immediate approach to Lourdes was impres- 

^3T 



238 FRANCE. 

sive and beautiful, for we saw the peaceful scene 
of the handsome church, the lovely Grotto, the 
suggestive Calvary, the castle-crowned rock and 
the mountain panorama, ere we came upon the 
dull monotonous roofs of the town where the 
station is located. A dusty drive of ten or fifteen 
minutes through the town, which but for the 
numerous bazaar-like shops, brilliant with bric-a- 
brac, religious articli^s, statues and rosaries, would 
have been dull and prosaic, and we came at once 
into a scene of strikingly peaceful and finished 
beauty. It was like a huge bowl surrounded by a 
gentle ridge upon one side, abrupt elevations upon 
others and the great rock (which hides the town) 
crowned most picturesquely with the various tow- 
ers and irregular walls of the ancient historic cas- 
tle. The hillsides are dotted with imposing build- 
ings of various kinds ; — through a break is seen a 
lateral valley or gorge, while beyond, appear moun- 
tain heights. Hotels and villas crowd to one side ; 
— the " G-ave du Pau," flows rapidly and bends 
abruptly around the Grotto rock, and in the bot- 
tom of the bowl stretches a beautifully kept and 
long open green or park, while beyond, perched 
high in air upon the Grotto rock is the costly 
Gothic basilica with a single, but elegant and 
graceful, spire. Directly in front of it, but some- 
what lower, is the Church of the Eosary, of which 
only a low glass portal and a zinc-covered dome, 
are visible. Enclosing it, like great welcoming 
arms stretched out to gather the multitude to its 
hospitable bosom, are upon either side^, circular, 



A MODERN BETHESDA. 239 

gradually rising pathways of handsome stonework 
like a horseshoe, to the basilica, a most ingenious 
utilization of space. AVe first visited the lower 
church, that of the Rosary, passing through por- 
tals of elaborately sculptured stone with glass 
doors and ornamentation of mosaics. The inte- 
rior is very odd and peculiar, being in form of a 
cross Tvith a fringe of chapels on every side and a 
low dome with colored windows over the intersec- 
tion of nave and transept. Cheap chandeliers, 
and numerous banners, some of which are very 
rich, hang from the ceiling, while the side walls 
are dotted with numberless frames containing 
first communion and bridal wreaths of orange 
flowers ; — ej)aulets, military honors, crosses, medals 
and swords. Against the piers are set large slabs 
of marble inscribed with various thanksgivings and 
remembrances. The high altar had a frontal of 
embroidered cloth of gold, a statue of ^'^ Our 
Lady " and a quantity of tawdry paper flowers. 
We passed out a side entrance, descended a spiral 
staircase and came into the blessed open air, by 
the side of the church, but on the level below. It 
was cool and verdant to look upon, huge trees made 
grateful shade that sultry day, and beyond a low 
wall, the rapid river ran closely by. We walked 
along the mountain base, trying to collect our 
thoughts and to relegate scepticism and unbelief to 
the background, that we might look at it all, with 
the proper reverence and respect of a guest, although 
necessarily tinged with compassion and pity. I 
have a great aversion to regarding or treating any 



240 FRANCE. 

place or object honestly held sacred by either indi- 
vidual or multitude, with contempt or ridicule, be- 
ing willing to accord to others that which I desire 
for myself. Otherwise, I would never visit shrine, 
church or holy place, at all. Along the base were 
several low granite bath-houses, one of which we 
entered. It was small, finished with blue stone, 
with steps descending to an oblong bath with 
places upon either side for attendants. When the 
afflicted one is helpless or too ill to walk, he is laid 
upon a ^^ grille "of cotton bands and gently low- 
ered into the waters, claimed to have miraculous 
powers of healing. Beyond these baths, is a long row 
of faucets and stone basins, from which the water 
from the grotto spring flows continually, and then 
the inevitable shop where candles and canteens to 
carry away the water are for sale. It was a dis- 
cordant note, but inseparable from the system. 
Beyond was the grotto not at all impressive, a 
small rough cavern, not more then twenty feet in 
height, with the rock roof blackened by the smoke 
and grime of continually burning candles. Pen- 
dant from the roof hung a large number of crutches 
and mechanical apparatus for maimed or broken 
limbs, black with the smoke of the unctuous can- 
dles. In the centre was an altar and a long pro- 
cession of superb bouquets of fresh flowers stretched 
tastefully and beautifully away to one side. In a 
niche in the rock above is a statue of '^ Our Lady 
of Lourdes '' in long robes and flowing veil of white 
and a blue girdle or sash, as she is said to have 
appeared to the little maiden in this very place. 



A MODERN BETHESDA, 241 

The fame of this humble place rests upon the very 
slight foundation^ that the Virgin here appeared 
several times in 1858 to a delicate child, ^^Berna- 
dette Subirous " while playing in the vicinity, and 
directed that a shrine in her honor should be built 
in this locality. Perhaps the j^oor child was al- 
ready ill, but soon after she was taken, while sick, 
to the Ursuline convent at Nevers, where she died 
in 1880. It is claimed that the spring or water 
broke miraculously from the rock about the time 
of those appearances of the Virgin. The place 
sprang at once into popularity, for within the first 
year it was visited by three hundred thousand 
people, and it has increased so in favor that spe- 
cial cars are now arranged to carry comfortably the 
most helpless invalids from all parts of Europe. 
The beneficent ivy covers the face of the great 
rock and falls like a drapery over the grotto open- 
ing. Two huge stands hold the burning candles 
placed there by the faithful, and an iron fence pro- 
tects the front, although the gate was freely open 
to everyone. Within, devotees were kneeling in 
prayer or earnestly kissing the great black rock. 
In front of the railing was a smooth open place 
with long seats. Perhaps some twenty persons 
were sitting quietly or kneeling there, too intent 
upon their devotions apptirently, to notice any of 
the surroundings. It was very quiet, and in one 
sense, solemn and impressive. There were no 
helpless or sick ones there save only one old lady 
in a wheel chair. But it was not a day of pilgrim- 
ages and scarcely any one was there. Even in the 
i6 



243 FRANCE. 

great church above, we saw but one person— an old, 
hard -working peasant, and she was asleep with her 
beads in her hands ! It was a place for meditation, 
for it was cool and shady, the river ran close by with 
soothing sound, while beyond, a shadowed path 
followed it and wound out of sight, and in range 
of vision were the silent hills. The stories of the 
miraculous cures are marvellous, and like many 
other things, quite impossible to analyze or com- 
prehend. We could not, of course, accept the be- 
lief that the waters were gifted with any miracu- 
lous powers of healing, but we could understand 
how many a mind lifted out of itself by faith in 
them, could be largely benefited. We could, for 
the time being, put ourselves in the place of these 
people, remembering that to which they had 
been educated, a system of penance and good works, 
understand that perhaps for the first time in their 
lives, faith in the Unseen was experienced and the 
result appeared to them miraculous. One cannot 
make light of it, no matter how little stock he may 
take in it, for it is all too serious a matter to those 
concerned. Yet, to us it was painfuly sad. Like 
so many of the church rituals and rites, it seemed 
to us it might be said of this, " Ye have taken away 
my Lord, and I know not where ye have laid Him.^' 
For it is not Jesus the great Healer, the Divine 
Kedeemer, who is made prominent, but Mary, 
'' Our Lady of Lourdes," and the common waters 
of a wayside grotto. 

Eeturning to the circular staircase within an 
octagonal tower, thereby avoiding the long walk 



A MODERN BETHESDA. 243 

around in the sun, we came out ujoon a porch and 
entered the crypt or basement of the Basilica, 
where there was little save a long corridor lined 
with confessionals and walls covered with votive 
offerings and inscribed marble slabs, and at the end 
several small chapels. AVe found the great church 
above, consisting of a single nave with apsidal 
eastern end, and in place of side aisles, a row of 
some thirteen chapels, very small as cathedrals go 
in this country. The ''tout-ensemble'' is very 
festive and gala-like, for pendant from the arched 
groined ceiling, are some thirty or forty sump- 
tuously embroidered banners glittering with gold 
and radiant with colors, and around the clerestory 
are richly tinted windows. Everywhere are pen- 
dent also, chandeliers of crystal and of gold. The 
cream white walls between clerestory and chapel 
arches are fairly hidden by multitudinous banners, 
framed '' votos" and golden hearts, the latter so 
arranged that they formed certain texts and quo- 
tations. A semi-military air, such as one notices 
in England in the chapels of certain orders, is im- 
parted by twelve or fourteen national flags, one of 
which is the Stars and Stripes ! A delicate screen 
of iron heavily gilded, encloses the high altar of 
simple white, with a statue of ''Our Lady of 
Lourdes " beneath a canopy of gold with a half 
dozen hanging lamps with crimson bowls, contin- 
ually burning before it. The general effect was 
very subdued and solemn, harmonious and impres- 
sive, although suggestive of some festive occasion. 
The number of " votos " or offerings is bewildering. 



344 



FRANCE. 



for upon all sides, tlie walls are covered with them, 
tastefully arranged and carefully placed so that at 
first glance, they seem a part of a scheme of dec- 
oration. As in the Church of the Eosary below, 
but in far greater numbers and of more costly 
character are seen family jewels, military trap- 
pings and swords, medals and crosses of honor, 
and bridal wreaths, all telling silently of the 
hearths recognition of blessings conferred and 
thanksgiving for them. Some of the multitudi- 
nous inscriptions are extremely touching and 
pathetic, such as ^^ thanks for reconciliation in a 
family circle,'^ — '^ thanks for recovery of a child 
or mother, ^^ — and ^' thanks for the grace of con- 
version.^' They make it seem like holy ground, — 
a great presence chamber inscribed and filled with 
the prayers of His saints. Surely He who looketh 
at the heart, must accept sincere and honest as- 
criptions to His praise and name wherever given ! 
Regard it as you may, you cannot escape the 
touching and pathetic aspect of this great com- 
pany or volume of thanksgivings and acknowledg- 
ments. Something of the great sorrow and suf- 
fering of the world, towards which, in loving ten- 
derness, the pitying eye of our Lord (and not 
the Virgin), we love to think, is ever turned, op- 
presses mind and heart while standing there, while 
thought and faith pass on, even to the presence 
chamber of the Most High, which must ever be 
filled with the cries, the praises and the thanks- 
giving of His children here on earth. A con- 
sciousness also comes to one, of the helplessness of 



11 



A MODERN BETHESDA. 245 

man, — his need of help spiritual and divine. The 
secret of the place lies in this yearning of body 
and soul for something personal and divine. The 
prominence given everywhere to Mary the Mother 
of our Lord is painful, in view of the words " there 
is none other name under heaven given among 
men whereby ye must be saved." — But no ac- 
knowledgment of Christ dominates this or any 
other structure, save the dead Christ upon the 
Cross, — instead of the ever-loving, ever-interceding 
One before the throne. — "We turned away unsatis- 
fied and sad, and could but feel that if all this vo- 
lume of pleading ; this reaching out, — and action 
of misguided faith, — this avalanche of thanks- 
giving, could but be directed and fixed upon Him 
who bore our sorrows and carried our griefs, what 
glorious results would be manifest and this little 
valley and these beautiful hills would leap for joy. 
The refrain kept sounding in our hearts while we 
sat reverently and quietly in this beautiful pres- 
ence chamber so eloquent with praise and thanks- 
giving,— 

" And when before the Throne 

We stand in Him complete : 

We'll lay our trophies down, 

All down at Jesus' feet." 



HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE. 

TOULOUSE — KIMES, ETC. 

The dense haze neither lifted nor disappeared, 
but with almost vicious persistency obscured the 
view to the last. When we turned finally away 
from Pau there was not even a suggestion of moun- 
tain range in sight. The day was heavy, cloudy, 
and hot ! For four hours and a half we sped along 
a beautifully cultivated country, with no novel 
characteristics save the multitude of Lombardy 
poplars, and the steep roofs. Once we had a fine 
mountain view, but the greater part of the way 
the landscape was simply peaceful and pretty. We 
arranged to stop at Toulouse for the Sabbath. A 
few hours there, would ordinarily suffice. The 
Hotel du Midi had been commended to us, because 
it faced a public square — that of " The Place de 
Capitole." Wondering what awaited us, we drove 
a long way through crooked streets with much that 
was novel and characteristic upon every side ; and 
entered at last a deep porte-cochere and were landed 
in a typical French court, with stiif shrubs in boxes, 
and caf6 and ^' salle-a-manger" windows opening to 
the floor. Four or five servants in shirt-sleeves and 
aprons surrounded us and the impression was not 
cheering to say the least. But when ^' Madame," 

246 



HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE. 247 

with her ribbons and flowing skirts and pretty 
French ways, and ^' Monsieur," with his effusive 
bows, a2:)peared, and we were escorted upstairs, 
improvement was visible with every foot of pro- 
gress. Fortunately our rooms overlooked the 
Place, a great paved open square, for it was nfete 
day and in the evening processions with lanterns 
and instrumental music and societies singing the 
^^ Marseillaise " and a great multitude of people, 
continually passed to and fro. AVhen we closed our 
windows for the night, the great ugly Place was 
deserted and still. But wheii we threw them open 
(not very early) the next morning, such a strange 
sight greeted us, that we fairly wondered if ive had 
^'gang agley."" It looked as if gigantic mush- 
rooms had sprung up in the night, for the whole 
space was covered by immense white umbrella and 
other shaped tents and awnings, for a general 
market was in full swing. It was very droll and 
exceedingly pretty. We walked through many of 
the little passages or aisles upon which vegetables, 
fruits, flowers, hats, clothing, shoes, and about 
everything required to keep life going, were ex- 
posed for sale. At twelve o'clock the work of the 
day was done and we watched with much curiosity 
and interest the gradual folding of the "tents like 
the Arabs " and the silent creeping away. Like 
magic they came,— like magic they disaj^peared. 
One umbrella tent after another came down ; va- 
rious booths Avere quickly transformed into plat- 
form-wagons, with the tent-cloths neatly folded 
over the wares, and one after another crept away, 



348 FRANCE. 

leaving the great square littered with cabbage- 
leaves and refuse. But unlike our way of doing, 
almost immediately carts and men appeared on the 
scene, much as the lackeys do upon a stage and at 
one o'clock not a trace of tents, market or rubbish 
was visible, and the bare, hot sunny square was 
deserted save by a few drowsy cabmen in an atten- 
uated row. It was a transformation scene of 
singular fascination and interest. In the evening 
we visited one of the stations of the McAll Mission 
to France, which looked like a little shop entirely 
without decoration, unless along strip of '' Turkey 
Red'' with ''Dieu est Amour" in silver paper 
letters, — two or three chromos and two large texts 
upon blue pasteboard, could be dignified with such 
a name. There were some twenty-five present, 
which, considering the fete was still in progress, 
and the streets unusually attractive, was remark- 
able. A young lady sat at a melodion, a young 
man assisted with a violin, and a choir of five voices 
sang the familiar hymns which carried us in spirit 
and association beyond the sea, and made us all 
kin. Our return was by a boulevard and past the 
'' Rond," a little park where a children's fete was 
in progress, made very brilliant by innumerable 
lanterns in the trees and little globules of light, 
forming pretty designs and patterns upon the 
lawns. A general drive upon the morrow showed 
us the leading features of the town of one hundred 
and fifty thousand inhabitants, built upon either 
shore of the rapid Garonne, which is spanned by 
several iron and stone bridges. In the principal 



HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE. 249 

streets were handsome buildings and shops, — and 
a museum, but the greater portion was very com- 
monplace. Although roughly finished the old 
church of St. Sernin, dating from the tenth and 
eleventh centuries, and conscientiously restored 
by Viollet-le-Duc, proved a very large and fine and 
really picturesque Romanesque structure, standing 
quite alone with street or open place surrounding 
it. Its interior beauty and impressiveness is a 
surprise. The long, narrow and very lofty nave 
with Norman roof and triforium marches is very 
solemn, reminding somewhat of Durham. A tri- 
forium gallery, double Norman arches, columns 
with sculptured capitals, four aisles and a stately 
nave ending with an apse and tiny semicircular 
chapels, make an interior of great beauty. The 
vista of the nave is closed most effectively by the 
dark wood of the choir, the showy high altar and 
beyond, lifted high in air, the golden sarcoph- 
agus of St. Sernin, and still further on the gold 
and colors of the tiny chapels of the apse. 
Beneath the high altar is a most peculiar and 
unusual crypt, partly Roman and partly Gothic, 
in which small dark chapels, gorgeously deco- 
rated in gold and colors, open from a central hall, 
each with a twelfth century chest or sarcoph- 
agus of gilded metal containing bones of saints. 
In the upper chapel reliquaries of richest work 
stand in a row, quite suggesting a shop. 

Across many a level stretch of the intervening 
space between Pau and Carcasonne, the ripening 
grain, or as they say, " corn" made glints of yellow 



250 



FRANCE. 



and gleams of gold ; — tlie character of houses and 
villages perceptibly changed ; — the steep, pointed 
roofs gave place to flat Italian ones and the Lom- 
bardy poplar and plane and button-ball trees were 
omnipresent. Just after leaving Carcasonne we 
had a perfect view of its castle-crowned hill, its 
dull walls and numerous towers. Twice after- 
wards we saw the towers and the crests of the walls 
and then Carcasonne passed out of our sight, 
probably forever. For four heated hours, the 
country traversed seemed to grow less and less 
interesting. At Cette, we saw the extensive salt 
works and had a whiff of refreshing Mediterranean 
air. Beyond Cette, the vineyards multiplied, so 
that it sometimes seemed as if there must be 
miles of them. The tint of the earth was a bright 
terra-cotta almost a brick color, contrasting beauti- 
fully with the tender green of the young vines. 
From the station of Montpellier, we looked long- 
ingly to the ancient city upon the crests of the 
lofty hills above, which time would not allow us to 
visit. This whole country with its Roman tra- 
ditions and remains and its historic roll of peoples 
and events, is of such surpassing interest and fasci- 
nating suggestion, that it seemed almost wicked to 
pass through it, with only a superficial glance. 
Toulouse has its memories, but Mmes, Aries and 
Avignon are especially rich in Eoman ruins 
and tangible reminiscences. In early evening, 
fairly wilted with the heat, we alighted at Nimes, 
— passed rapidly through a long, imposing boule- 
vard, came into a spacious open place and were 



Maison Carree. Niraes 



HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE. 251 

soon comfortably settled at the Hotel du Luxem- 
bourg overlooking a pretty park and fountain with 
enormous swans. Nimes proved a treasure-house, 
without a single disappointment. It dates from 
before the Christian era and possesses more rem- 
nants and remains of the Roman regime than any 
other town in France. The old Roman amphi- 
theatre, dating from the first and second centuries 
was but a few minutes away. As it stands alone, 
of whitish gray stone much smoked and discolored, 
showing two stories of Ionic columns and arches 
all seriously marred and injured, surrounded by 
wide streets or open spaces, it is not only most ad- 
vantageously seen, but is most imposing and impres- 
sive. Oval in form, it encloses an area of 437 x 
332 feet. While smaller than the Colosseum at 
Rome and the Amphitheatre at Aries, it is in a 
much better state of preservation. Neither Aries, 
Nimes, nor Verona, however, surpass the grand old 
pile in the Eternal City, in color, impressiveness or 
environment. The corridors and the vistas with 
the arched openings or windows toward the street, 
are very beautiful and picturesque. The Arena 
and open spaces, from which were caught many a 
fascinating view, were intensely hot in the glare of 
the sun, but the upper corridors were breezy and 
delightful, and it was most satisfactory to sit there 
quietly and read the story of it, all so strange and 
unreal, in the glamour of the lapse of years. One 
looks at the enormous blocks of stone (G x 10 ft.) 
neatly fitted and joined without mortar ; pictures 
it in its glory with its company of twenty-four 



353 FRANCE. 

thousand spectators on pleasure bent, and the 
thought that even this and the life which it repre- 
sents has utterly disappeared from the face of the 
earth, is appalling and bewildering. We could 
never become quite accustomed to this feature 
of European travel nor analyze the emotion it in- 
spired, perhaps because in our own land, even a re- 
curring hundred years is something to celebrate. 
The amphitheatre is imposing, grand ; but in 
quite another part of the town is the Maison Carree, 
a trophy of the second century than which neither 
Eome nor Athens can show anything fairer, a small 
Corinthian temple (76 x 40) with front portico 
of ten faultless columns and set in side walls some 
twenty engaged or half columns, all with richly 
sculptured Corinthian capitals. Owing to details 
of decoration, symmetry of form, beauty of design 
and almost perfect condition it is probably the most 
beautiful remain of the Roman age extant. It 
stands alone, above and in the centre of an open 
square and has such a checkered history that one 
wonders that anything is left to tell the tale or per- 
petuate the beautiful thought of which its form is 
the embodiment Built originally in time of Au- 
gustus, for a temple, it became later a place of 
Christian worship ; then a place of meeting of the 
municipal officers ; still later a stable ; anon, con- 
nected with a convent as a dead-house or place of 
sepulture ; a revolutionary tribunal ; a corn ware- 
house ; and now, carefully repaired and restored, a 
museum. The ornament upon pediment and cor- 
nice, the design and execution of the arabesque 



HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE. 253 

frieze are exquisite, while the detail and finish 
of columns and capitals are faultless and probably 
not surpassed the world over. Excavations have 
revealed that originally it was a central building 
flanked by wings upon either side and glorious must 
have been the effect. When one thinks of a fin- 
ished structure like this, springing into beautiful 
existence from some mighty brain in that far-dis- 
tant age and remembers it has never been sur- 
passed or equalled, the feeling obtrudes that the 
high-water-mark of original architecture has been 
reached, and that henceforth there is nothing but 
suggestion, adaptation or repetition. Henry 
"Ward Beecher once exclaimed in his exuberant 
love of natural beauty : — " What a glorious 
thought it was when God thought of a tree!" 
Recalling this, the thought even comes in presence 
of these triumphs of ancient art, " What a glorious 
thought it was, possessing mind and heart of 
man, that found such perfect expression that even 
in these later days it serves as a standard of faultless 
grace, opulent imagination and unapproachable 
beauty !" The Maison Carree alone repays for all 
the trouble and fatigue of the entire trip. 

A pleasant drive is to the public gardens, which 
are prettily laid out and made most picturesque 
and interesting by the old Roman baths. Great 
canals or basins are full of clear sparkling water, 
while the baths, back of pretty columns, are seen 
beneath the pathways. Directly above, a steep 
hillside, beautifully covered with shrubbery, has a 
zigzag balustraded walk to the summit, where 



354 FRANCE. 



^1 



stands a ragged and mined octagonal tower, the 
" Tour Magne/^ some ninety feet in height, sup- 
posed originally to have been a family mausoleum, 
which commands a most extensive view. Near by 
the baths was the Temple of Diana, a much shat- 
tered but beautiful ruin, with halls, arches and 
niches for statuary, now in process of strengthen- 
ing and restoration. 

Was it not enough ? Steeped with the inex- 
pressible charm of these ancient, picturesque and 
thrilling remains, was it any wonder that we were 
content to give to the modern city, with its picture 
gallery and museum, its manufactories of silk, and 
its attractive boulevards, not even the modicum 
of a passing glance ? 



THE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 

CARCASONNE. 

FiCTiox and poetry, lamentable as it may 
seem, will often inspire interest and fix permanently 
in the memory that which more-to-be-valned his- 
tory with its details and undisputed facts will fail 
to do. We questioned, but for several versions of 
the exquisite poem of Gustave Xadaud which ran 
the round of the secular press some years ago, 
Avhether, unfamiliar with Southern France, we 
would even have known of '^ Carcasonne/' But 
that which points the moral and adorns the tale of 
the poem, appeals so to every one's experience, that 
once read, it is not easily or soon forgotten. Some 
busy lives are crowded with day-dreams, with 
mental picturings of places or experiences the ful- 
filment and realization of which sometimes punc- 
tuates the passing years with delightful incident 
and interesting epoch. As Carcasonne had been 
with us for many a long year a sunny day-dream, 
it was quite impossible to think of it as only two 
hours away as we sat in Pau, without quickening 
of pulse and throbbing of heart. Upon our arrival 
the heat was intense, quite equal to our best July 
records, so that when fairly settled in the unpre- 
tentious little Hotel St. Jean Baptiste at Car- 

255 



256 FRANCE. 

casonne we were quite content to ignore the at- 
tractions and claims of this portion of the world 
for two or three restful hours. Then we thought 
to take a drive around the modern town called the 
" Ville Basse" leaving the walled mediaeval '' Cite " 
until the morrow. We were too subdued to have 
any preferences and hade the coachman take us 
where he would. To our surprise we found it a 
very pretty town with a number of boulevards, 
'^ allees" and an attractive garden or park, and a 
busy mart as well, having several woollen factories 
and apparently a large population. It is watered 
by the Eiver Aude and the Canal du Midi, that 
wonderful work commenced in 1666, which con- 
nects, by an artificial course of one hundred and 
fifty-five miles, the waters of the Atlantic and the 
Mediterranean. — " What ! another church " we 
exclaimed as we stopped at St. Vincent^s, a fine 
old restored structure of the fourteenth and six- 
teenth centuries, with a heavy unfinished tower, 
and an interior peculiarly imposing because con- 
sisting only of a nave sixty-six feet wide, the 
widest, in fact, in France, and a row of beautiful 
stained-glass rose windows below the roof. The 
Cathedral of St. Michael is narrower, but very 
similar, and with the side chapels and the colored 
decorations, both of these spacious" interiors were 
handsome and imposing. "Did you not weary 
with the churches and cathedrals ? " we are asked. 
No ! never tired of tliem but tired ourselves very 
often, but even then we could not forget that 
perhaps we might never pass that way agaiu;, 



THE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 257 

and ^' did'' them faithfully always. Faithful 
'^Coachee" properly mindful of coming '^•pour- 
boire," stopped at a little gateway in a high wall ; 
we wondered what it could be if not a private 
garden. It proved to be, upon a large and costly 
scale, a Calvary ! The walled enclosure (not level 
but much diversified) was covered with a lawn, 
thickly planted with trees and hedges. Set into 
the walls, some fifteen feet above the street, were 
at intervals, the twelve Stations of the Cross, bas- 
reliefs in little porticos. In a retired nook, was 
the Agony in the Garden, the three Disciples lying 
asleep beneath some shrubbery, the Saviour, almost 
hidden, kneeling in prayer a short distance away, 
while upon a knoll above, among the thick verdure, 
was an angel with the cup. Gradually the paths 
led up to a hilltop where were three crosses, with 
life-sized figures, the thieves being secured by 
ropes. In addition to this, within the enclosure 
was a chapel and several grottos with groups of 
figures. It was painfully realistic, a strange sight 
to us, but the garden was beautiful and the view 
from the height towards the horizon hills, lovely. 
Beyond the town, we drove for a couple of miles 
beside the Canal du Midi and then ascended a hill. 
From several points, we had caught glimpses of 
the mediaeval '' Cite," the Carcasonneof the poem, 
and sat spellbound with the beautiful vision. But 
the picture from this hill crest, was simply inde- 
scribable ! The atmosphere was hazy and dreamy, 
the light subdued and tender. Against the horizon 
rose a line of soft blue and violet hills, and against 
17 



258 FRANCE. 

the bronze green nearer hills piled in turn against 
them, rose phantom-like, weird, and spectral, a 
long irregular line of fortification walls, round and 
square towers. There was no gleam, or flash, or 
glitter ; all was dun and dull ! It was so the color 
of the soil, it seemed like a growth from the very 
earth ; or a mirage, an apparition, which at any 
moment might disappear or dissolve. The west- 
ern sky was watery ; the sun, dim or veiled by the 
soft haze, threw a soft, mellow light upon the 
whole varied and picturesque pile. It seemed un- 
natural and unearthly, yet it was not heavenly I 
There was no suggestion of an eternal city as there 
might have been in flashing sunlight. It was too 
earthly, for that. It was so rich and varied in 
form and outline, so spectacular in effect, that it 
seemed a scene put upon a stage ! there was no 
life in it ; no expression of defiant or impregnable 
strength, for in the soft, golden, hazy atmosphere, 
it seemed to waver as a mirage, to tremble with 
indistinctness as in a vision. We looked at it long 
and well, fearing that on the morrow, in glare of 
sunshine, it would be matter of fact and prosaic. 
We have watched cloud banks and seen them ap- 
parently by some mysterious force, form into bat- 
tlements and towers and mighty walls, as of some 
heavenly fortification ; have seen the beautiful 
and thrilling apparitions tumble apart or dissolve 
and been awed by the mystical scene. With much 
the same emotion and feeling we gazed, that early, 
quiet evening hour, upon this far-away, weird, and 
picturesque pile of venerable towers and prolonged 



I 



THE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 259 

battlements, which now fully restored, presents 
better than any other in France, a picture of a 
stronghold or a fortress of the Middle Ages. 

In approaching it the next morning, we drove 
almost entirely around the base of the hill upon 
which the fortifications and city stand, and had a 
most fine and satisfactory view of the entire cir- 
cuit. In the glare of the morning sun it lost, of 
course, much of the dreamy and mystical appear- 
ance which was the charm of yesterday, but those 
rough walls and varied towers could never be other- 
wise than picturesque and delightful to behold. 
It all seems cut from the whole cloth of another 
age, and as one walks through it and has attention 
drawn in crypt or cathedral to work of the fourth 
century, and at one point and another to that of 
each succeeding cycle, in bewilderment he scarcely 
knows whether he is contemporary with the nine- 
teenth or not. The immediate approach to the 
Narbonne gate (there are but two) with at one 
side the sculptured head of Carcas, a " Saracen 
woman who, according to the legend, alone re- 
mained in the city, after a siege of five years, by 
Charlemagne," was fine and impressive. Let it 
be understood, Carcasonne is a town of the Middle 
Ages, enclosed with a double line of fortifications, 
with some fifty round towers and walls rising fifty 
and sixty feet above steep cliffs, built and rebuilt 
upon old Roman foundations previous to the fifth 
century, with work of the fifth to the thirteenth 
centuries, all dominated by a citadel. In shape, 
it is nearly square and about a mile in circumfer- 



260 FRANCE. 

ence. It has been the scene of fierce conflict, and 
has withstood the assaults of the Crusaders, and 
its history, like every European stronghold, is 
written in blood. For many years it was left to 
neglect and decay, and the narrow, steep streets, 
and rickety houses, the towers and fortifications 
were the abode of the poorest class of people, 
^^ squatters," in fact. But in later years (1844), 
at Government expense, under the magic touch of f I 
M. Viollet-le-Duc, it has been restored and the 
castle is now a barrack. Up beneath archways 
and through narrow, curving, and crooked streets, 
with many an abrupt turning, we passed with a 
clatter of horses' hoofs and cries of coachmen suffi- 
cient to have taken a city, until we came to an 
open place by the cathedral. 

We were entirely unprepared for the vista of 
grace and beauty that stretched before us when we 
entered the sacred edifice. You may go far and 
wide, even in this land of churches and cathedrals, 
and not see anything more chaste, graceful or 
beautiful. The nave is Eoman or Norman with 
alternate square and round arched openings, and 
a roof just turning from the round arch of the 
Roman into the point of the Gothic. The apsidal 
end is a cluster of tall slender windows, a bouquet 
of softest and richest colorings. The transepts 
form three chapels on either side, all a solid line 
of these attenuated, glorious windows, while 
columns, arches and ceiling soar away in lines of 
slender, pointed Gothic. At the end of each tran- 
sept is a superb wheel window of richest glass. 



THE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 261 

most of which, we were told, was of the fourteenth 
century. In the pavement before the high altar 
is a slab of reddish marble said to mark the origi- 
nal burial-place of Simon of Montfort, Earl of 
Leicester, who fresh from the Crusades, at the 
bidding of the Pope, waged a war of extermination 
upon the Christian Albigenses. The remains have 
been removed and the original slab, with incised 
effigy of a knight in armor, is fastened against the 
transept wall. The old sacristan, who lay asleep 
upon one of the settles close to the high altar 
when we entered, after showing us the tomb of a 
good bishop in the sacristy, said he had much 
more to show us and lighting a candle led us 
through a long, narrow subterranean stone passage 
until we came to a low crypt beneath the high 
altar. It was bare, but with many columns and 
two of the rude original altars which, with carv- 
ing upon one or two capitals was all work of the 
fourteenth century. Verily, in such a place one feels 
a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
as a day. In the nave is a queer quaint carving 
of the Siege of Toulouse which, with a bishop's 
tomb, a picturesque baptistry, and a fine organ, 
quite completes the interesting category. Then 
we walked to the ramparts and visited a fine tower 
of several stories, seeing the apparatus for lowering 
iron gates, the narrow well-holes down which were 
hurled missiles and boiling-oil was poured in time 
of siege, and the narrow loop-holes for the archers, 
and from the roof looked down upon the outer and 
lower walls, with their long promenades and 



262 FRANCE. 

battlements, and off upon the pretty but not strik- 
ing environing country, slumberous and quiet in 
tlie sultry, hazy air. A smooth walk follows the 
line of the summit of the walls, but at almost f I 
every tower steps must be ascended or descended ; 
we saw the Bishop's Tower, the Old Mill Tower 
and looked down into its depths ; — the Inquisition 
Tower, with its dungeons and chains, and the 
Moorish Tower with pretty Alhambraic windows, 
and several others. The majority are more or less 
restored, but one is left in shattered condition. 
The original towers with conical and pointed roofs 
were covered with slate, so the restored ones are 
treated in the same way, but it is easy to distin- 
guish them, for the old ones have a glitter that 
the nineteenth century dull ones do not possess. It 
is all, however, dull in color. The roofs in the 
hot sunlight have the cold heartless gleam of 
steel or metal. It was so intensely hot, the air so 
oppressive, the reflection of the stone walks and 
walls so scorching that we gave up the round 
of remaining towers and walls and turned reluc- 
tantly away. It is all so quaint and old ! A little 
terraced garden outside of the Narbonne Gate is 
the only touch of the nineteenth century, for even 
the tidy old women, knitting demurely outside of 
their apartment doors in the " Cite " seem con- 
temporaneous with a time long dead. The view 
from the towers and battlements upon a clear day 
take in, we were told, the distant, snow-crested 
Pyrenees, — but that sultry day the warm, glowing 
haze seriously limited the view, As we drove 



THE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 263 

away, I fear our thoughts were more with the 
mythical old man of the poem who " never saw 
fair Carcasonne/^ than with the multitude who 
impart to it a rich and varied historic interest. 
Had not the heat been so intense, — had not dis- 
tant Norway beckoned us to her cape and fjords, — 
or had we not felt with the poet, 

" Perhaps in autumn I can find 
Two sunny days with gentle wind, 
I then could go to Carcasonne," — 

we would gladly have tarried and seen the pictu- 
resque historic pile in still different moods and 
changing lights ; but we were content, for our 
dream was realized and we, at least, had looked 
upon ^^fair Carcasonne." 

****** 

While I have penned these lines and lived over 
again in thought and memory this unique experi- 
ence with the hauntingly beautiful pathos of the 
poem trembling in every reminiscence, tenderly 
has it been borne in upon me that in the interval 
'' the church-belFs low and solemn toll " has 
sounded "for passing soul" of one who was the 
winsome and gentle central figure of the happy 
group of those halcyon days, — and while we still 
wander up and down this beautiful earth, her 
blessed feet, never wearied in unselfish ministry, 
have passed triumphantly 'through the Gate, — 
into the City." 



UNTO THE END. 

AELES — AVIGNON. 

Antique Aries and poetic Avignon, — common- 
place Lyons and, as a home base, ever brilliant 
Paris ! So ran the charming itinerary now fast 
drawing to a close. Between Mmes and Aries 
lay a journey of an hour, with a wait at Tarascon 
of a half-hour additional. Just before Tarascon 
was reached a fine view was obtained of an old 
Gothic palace of King Kene, with high massive 
walls, round towers and keys, but now a prison. 
(With the wont of tourists we speak familiarly of 
that of which we know literally nothing !) The 
country all the way from Nimes steadily grew 
poorer and poorer ; the vineyards looked as if 
life was a struggle, the stunted olives loaded as 
everything else with white dust, as if it was hardly 
worth living. Even the rocks had the grayish 
white look of lime or chalk, and scarce a tree of 
any size was visible. The day was done when we 
stopped at the station of Aries. (And we were 
almost so !) Our drive to a hotel upon the Place 
du Forum, which name at once suggested the 
antique atmosphere of the town, seemed inter- 
minable, the streets being narrow and crooked 
and the turns abrupt. There were two hotels 

264 



I 



UNTO THE END. 265 

quite close together, each possessing that exasper- 
ating peculiarity which made the final selection 
of one provoke the regret that the other had not 
been chosen ! The traces or evidences of Koman 
life and rule at Aries are very marked, and are of 
surpassing interest. The great arena or amphi- 
theatre (459 X 341) is larger and in many respects 
unlike that at Nimes, but is of the same grayish 
stone, much discolored and defaced and badly 
shattered. The view of the interior is extremely 
picturesque and impressive, the upper tier of 
arches being perfect and at four different points the 
remains of square towers added in the eighth cen- 
tury by the Saracens when used as a fortress. The 
view from the tallest of these was most interest- 
ing, for in every direction the country lay as 
'^ level as a barn floor," while immediately around 
were the dull roofs of the duller town. Upon the 
level, well covered with small trees and green 
fields, the Eiver Rhone bends and twists in the 
form of a small boy's very badly shaped capital 
'' S." At a distance, upon a slight elevation, were 
visible the towers and walls of an ancient monas- 
tery surrounded by a small village. The air being 
hazy, mountains were distinguishable in only one 
direction. Perhaj^s there were no more, for it 
did not look like a country where they could be 
plentiful. The look down upon the arena, with 
tier after tier of seats, huge arches and ruined, shat- 
tered, but picturesque corridors, obliterated the 
nineteenth century and carried thought and imagi- 
nation to a far distant life and age. One naturally 



266 FRANCE. 

settles into reverv, — into dreaming or reminis- 
cence. The ruling characteristics were similar 
to those at Nimes, but at no point did we secure 
such a superb view of the exterior. The box for 
the emperor, as well as the parapet before it, is 
here unusually perfect. One cannot but notice 
and admire the wonderful construction whereby 
immense blocks lie matched and connected as 
beautifully as if held by cement or mortar, and so 
well done that, notwithstanding fire and sword, and 
the decay and changes of centuries, as to present 
an object lesson to these degenerate days. '' Cui 
bono ? " one instinctively asks, and from the far- 
away past comes the trite ^' to make a Eoman 
holiday.''^ 

It is said Christianity was introduced in G-aul 
by Trophimus, that Disciple whom Paul '' left at 
Miletum sick.^' The Cathedral bears his honored 
name with the usual prefix, " Saint. ^^ The inter- 
ior being very bare, with nine or ten immense tapes- 
tries hung upon side walls, almost too high to be 
seen, — was of little interest ; but the dirt-covered, 
stained and time-injured front portal, elaborately 
carved, showing in droll prison lock-step, two pro- 
cessions of cherubim, statues of Apostles and in 
spandril, a Last Judgment, with beautiful columns, 
was most interesting, being, in fact, a wonderful 
work. But attached to the church, approached 
by a staircase and also entered on opposite sides by 
a door opening upon a street, are the beautiful 
cloisters so often quoted, which remind by their 
beauty and expression, of those of St. PauFs at 



UNTO THE END. 267 

Rome. A curious feature is, that two sides are fin- 
ished with the round arches of the twelfth and two 
in the pointed or Gothic of the thirteenth. Many of 
the capitals deftly formed of figures grouped in 
scriptural scenes or characters, and some entirely 
of foliage, constitute another. A most unusual 
one, are full length statues against the piers and 
exquisite classic pilasters towards the court. The 
scene presented from the corners is most poetical 
and picturesque, for at right angles one corridor 
stretches away with rich, simple, barrel-vaulted roof 
and lovely round arches supported by clustered 
columns, while the other presents a groined and 
pointed roof and the narrow pointed arches of the 
Gothic order. Another pecularity of this is, the 
well, usually in the enclosed court, stands inside of 
the cloister against a pier at the angle. While 
carefully conserved, it lacks the neatly kept turf in 
court which is such a charming feature of Clois- 
ters in Old England. 

Another intensely interesting reminiscence of 
the Roman Age is that of the Theatre with a 
semicircle of seats for sixteen tjiousand sjiecta- 
tors, with two beautiful Corinthian columns sup- 
porting a bit of entablature, the remains of an old 
colonnade. 

An ancient church is fitted up as a Museum and 
is filled with sarcophagi, columns, sculptured 
marbles and statues. We drove beyond the gar- 
dens and boulevards to the ancient cemetery of 
Aliscamps, the immediate approach to whicli, 
through a long avenue of tall Lombardy poplars 



268 FRANCE. 

with, on either side a row of old Roman sarcoph- 
agi or tombs, was most weird and curious. At the 
end was the ruined and deserted church of St. 
Honorat with an elegant octagonal tower rising 
like a dome over the centre. The interior was 
damp and bare, with two beautiful side chapels, one 
with lovely frieze and capitals carved in stone. A 
general drive showing the Rhone and the old Pal- 
ace of Constantine, finished our explorations that 
broiling hot day. Aries was the only place where 
we saw anything approaching a provincial or local 
costume. The women very properly are noted for 
their beauty. The costume consists in a most 
quaint and peculiar dressing of the hair with Swiss 
or white lace and binding of embossed velvet or 
silk ribbons and the wearing of the neck of dress 
open with embroidered white kerchief folded 
voluminously over the bosom. Even the market 
women had large, white printed bordered handker- 
chiefs folded daintily in thiswise, while a plain but 
tidily dressed woman who sat upon a doorstep 
sewing was a most pleasing picture. 



A hot tedious journey of an hour and a quarter, 
with little to interest along the way, save the novel 
sight of hundreds of lovely white and pink olean- 
ders in profuse bloom, brought us to Avignon, for 
over one hundred years the residence of the Popes 
" in exile " and the scene of the platonic love of 
Petrarch and Laura. Our ideal was most poetic ; 
the reality most disappointing in spite of battle- 



Pont du Gard 



UNTO THE END. 269 

merited walls and towers, — the lovely grounds upon 
edge of the precipice above the river, and the view 
over the Rhone and the environing country. Had 
we not been prepared by the sight for several days 
of sundry photographs, the great ancient Palace 
of the Popes would have been an utter disappoint- 
ment, for while we knew it was more fortress than 
palace we had supposed it more ornate. Like 
every colossal structure, it is imposing. The great 
massive walls, sixteen and eighteen feet in thick- 
ness, rise up bare and plain, save the Gothic recesses 
sunk in their face, to four and five stories in height. 
Built in the thirteenth century it looks as if it 
would stand to the end of time. The balcony 
from which the Papal Benediction was pronounced 
has disappeared from the front fa9ade and only a 
long line in the second story and the original sup- 
ports over the chief entrance suggest it. It is dif- 
ficult to conceive that it has ever been the scene 
of luxurious and profligate living, until the interior 
is visited, but even that has been so divided and sub- 
divided to adjust it to its present use as a barrack, 
as to suggest little of its original grandeur. The 
stately Gothic hall of the Consistory which was orig- 
inally a lofty and regal apartment with rich groined 
roof, is now divided by a floor into two stories and 
one side has been cut off to form a passage, so 
that in lower rooms are seen the columns and in 
upper the groined roof. The structure encloses 
an immense court with nothing but massive dingy 
walls, four and five stories in height, entirely bare 
of any architectural ornament or beauty. There 



370 FRANCE. 

was really very little to see. In the third story a 
pretty narrow passage with groined ceiling, and 
the cells of the cardinals were shown. Descending, 
we crossed the great conrt diagonally, ascended a 
filthy staircase, passed through a room with old 
frescoes and went out upon a little balcony which 
led up to the Tower of St. John into the Chapel 
of the Inquisition, with walls covered with ancient 
but badly defaced frescoes, the Chamber of Tor- 
ture and the Tower in which the brave Eienzi was 
confined as a prisoner until released through the 
entreaty of Petrarch who was here a guest, were 
not shown. From the outside at various points 
we caught glimpses of the different towers, but 
while massive, extensive and fortress-like it was 
a disappointment. The term ^'^ Gothic^' conveys 
the thought of arches, turrets and foliated orna- 
mentation. We had pictured it yellow in tint, 
Gothic in character and perched upon cliffs over- 
looking the Rhone — while to-day it shows merely a 
pile, which in its immensity and massiveness pos- 
sesses only a certain grandeur. Immediately ad- 
joining the palace, but upon higher ground, as 
the rocks rise rapidly and steadily, is the Cathedral 
of Notre Dame des Doms, built in the eleventh 
century, of no external beauty, but with an en- 
trance porch exquisite and unlike in character, 
supposed to have been originally a Pagan Temple. 
It is square in shape, and classic in style, with 
elegant Corinthian columns and sculptured orna- 
mentation. Coming from the glaring sunlight 
the interior at first seems dark and gloomy, but as 



UNTO THE END. 371 

the eye becomes accustomed to it, like magic, 
features beautiful and suggestive appear. Follow- 
ing the lines of the nave is a narrow, richly carved 
and decorated renaissance balustraded gallery, 
which as it passes the piers, bulges out and is suj)- 
ported by solid exquisitely carved brackets, all of 
which is probably a modern addition. The east 
end is octagonal and forms a choir back of high 
altar, above which is a singular octagonal dome. 
Perhaps the most interesting item is the arch- 
bishop's chair, the throne of the Popes for nearly 
a century, a small white marble seat with beneath 
one arm, a large rude bas-relief of the winged Ox 
of St. Luke, and under the other the Lion of St. 
Mark. Directly in front of it, a slab in the floor 
marks the grave of " the brave Crillon," a bronze 
statue of whom graces the open place below the 
front of the cathedral. The effect of the interior 
is curioQS but pretty, but a little mixed, antique 
marble columns being set up on either side of 
chapel entrances, exactly as if they had them on 
hand. Li the sacristy is one of those elaborate 
architectural trophies sometimes met, which fairly 
startle and overwhelm with opulence of conceit, 
exquisiteness of design and perfection of execution, 
— the remains of the tomb of Pope John XXII. 
(1334) which originally stood in the nave of the 
cathedral. The effigy of the pope lies at full 
length beneath a magnificent, tall, elaborately 
wrought Gothic canopy, the turrets and pinnacles, 
arches and floriated ornaments of which form a 
pile twenty-five or thirty feet in height, of exquisite 



273 FRANCE. 

grace, quite suggesting in its shattered state a 
mass of icicles or stalactites. It quite reminds one 
also of the exquisite chantries seen in English 
cathedrals. Originally sixty statues under ex- 
quisite canopies and upon delicately chiseled 
brackets graced the structure, but the orgies of 
the Revolution made sad hayoc with them. 

Beyond the cathedral, covering the summit of 
the great rock which rises precipitately some three 
hundred feet from the river is the " Promenade 
des Doms/^ beautifully laid out with winding 
paths, hedgerows, flower-borders and fountains. 
The view from the extreme edge is superb. Im- 
mediately below is the rapid-flowing Rhone, form- 
ing by its junction with the Durance a long beauti- 
ful island covered with orchards and golden grain- 
fields. Beyond the river, upon other shore of the 
island is the fortress of St. Andrew with lofty 
and massive walls, ponderous gate towers, and 
heavy square tower. The houses of the village of 
Villeneuve, hard by, are so nearly the color of the 
tawney yellow brown of the soil as to seem a part or 
parcel of it. All along the distant hillsides appear 
the gleams of country villas, while looking in 
opposite directions the valley spreads out level and 
fertile till lost in the distant horizon line, quite 
reminding of the Connecticut Valley at Spring- 
field. 



While at Nimes we wished to drive to the Pont 
du Gard, the finest and grandest of all the Roman 



UNTO THE END. 373 

remains in Southern France. The intense heat 
and the white dust made it unadvisable, but find- 
we could reach it by train from the Pont du 
Avignon, a station ui^on the opposite side of the 
Khone, we drove across a suspension bridge, hav- 
ing in our progress a fine view of the machico- 
lated and battlemented walls and several of the 
thirty-eight watch towers, and in about a half of 
an hour reached Eemoulins. The only convey- 
ance to be had was a small ^' ramshackle " bus and 
a very decrepit old horse that it seemed a sin to 
hurry. The heavy old driver assured us he could 
take us to our desired haven in twenty minutes, 
and strange to say he did, although it seemed in 
its discomfort, like forty ! As the magnificent 
structure rose before us in a scene of utter solitude, 
without suggestion of man or habitation of man, 
we felt how utterly impossible to convey any idea 
of the grandeur, sublimity and magnitude of this 
work of the age of Agrippi, son-in-law of Augus- 
tus, nineteen years before Christ, blazing almost 
unharmed in the sunlight of this nineteenth cen- 
tury summer day. Built originally as a portion of 
an aqueduct to carry the water of two springs 
some twenty-five miles away, to Nimes, it gives 
to-day, perhaps the most impressive picture ex- 
tant, of the lavishness and luxuriousness of that 
Roman Age. Just where the River Gard bends 
most picturesquely through wooded heights and 
passes out of sight, it springs from one steep bank 
of the valley to the other like a colossal bridge eight 
hundred and eighty feet in length, consisting of 
i8 



374 FRANCE. 

three tiers of arches with in all a height of one 
hundred and sixty feet. The first or foundation 
tier, has six massive arches, the second supported 
by it has eleven, while the third which carries and 
upholds the aqueduct has thirty-five. The whole 
structure is formed by immense blocks of tawny 
yellow stone, laid with the marvellous precision 
and nicety of Eoman work, without mortar, or 
cement save in the aqueduct on top, which con- 
sists of an enclosed canal some four feet by three 
inside. Save a carriage-road built out upon the 
first tier in seventeen hundred and forty-five and 
in use at the present day, the entire pile is useless. 
But as a spectacle it is grand and awe-inspiring, 
overwhelming in its magnitude and boldness. 
The solitude and quiet invests it with a strange 
and mystical air as it soars away some one hun- 
dred and sixty feet in the air. It is finer and 
grander than the aqueducts on the Eoman Cam- 
pagna or any of the ruins of the Ancient City, 
save the peerless Colosseum. As we stood some 
distance from it, the sun broke through the clouds, 
the yellow stone glowed with life and arch after 
arch, sharp and well defined, framed in a portion 
of the country beyond with startling and exquisite 
effect. 

As we turned regretfully away, in our confused 
thought and bewildering revery was mingled the 
impressive consciousness that, as it stands to-day, 
so it rose in all its pristine grandeur and pride, 
ere the blessed Master walked the Judean fields or 
climbed the far-away slopes of the Galilean hills. 



UNTO THE END. 275 

Pagan Rome, with its pomp and glory has passed 
utterly away ; the Judean hills and the shores of 
Galilee are denuded and deserted : but the King- 
dom of the Nazarene marches steadily on, even to 
the triumphant end. 



THE COUNTRY 

OF THE 

DOLOMITES. 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 



BY A WAY WE KNEW NOT. 

Miss Edwards, in her " Untrodden Peaks," 
published more than twenty years ago, says of the 
ignorance of the English-speaking world in regard 
to the so-called Dolomite region, '' that it is by no 
means uncommon to find educated persons who 
have never heard of the Dolomites at all, or who 
take them for a religious sect like the Mormons or 
Druses." But *^ Dolomite'^ is a much varied and 
elastic term. To ordinary folk, it designates a 
certain but comparatively small portion of South- 
eastern Austria and Northern Italian Tyrol, where 
within an area of thirty-five by fifty miles are 
found strange isolated mountain peaks, piunacles 
and buttresses, which in the most unexpected and 
unaccountable localities, tower in weird, defiant, 
awe-inspiring and violent forms, often far above 
the elevation of ordinary Alpine heights. To the 
geologist and scientist, it tells of a peculiar rock 
"formation of carbonate of lime and magnesia, chalk 
in fact, (in which five thousand feet above the sea 
level are found remains of fossil fishes and marine 
deposits,) resting upon granite and other founda- 
tions of entirely different character, to wiiich atten- 

270 



280 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

tion was first drawn by Monsieur Dolomieux, a 
French savant, who in 1789-90 travelled, explored 
and studied much in the district, and whose name 
is easily recognized and embalmed in the coined 
word, '^Dolomite." It is an interesting fact that 
the mountains are not entirely of this peculiar for- 
mation, the tallest of all being only so at the top. 
To the artist it means a wilderness of striking 
effects and a wealth of fabulous color, compared 
with which even Switzerland is tame. To the 
Alpine climber it offers a comparatively new field 
with sufficient of the fascinating element of dan- 
ger and an abundant prospect of easily broken 
neck or bones, — while to the common tourist who 
looks only from the standpoint of the picturesque, 
it unrolls a panorama so novel, so unlike all else 
in Europe, as to seem of another continent or 
world. Ignorance, however, even at this late day, 
of routes, modes of travel and accommodations, is 
quite pardonable, especially if one finds himself 
unexpectedly in Italy and wishing to reach Inns- 
bruck, desires to take the Dolomite country on the 
way, for the literature upon the subject, in English 
at least, such as guide-books, simple maps, etc., 
is very meagre, and reliable and serviceable infor- 
mation exasperatingly difficult to obtain. Baede- 
ker's '^Eastern Alps" is most unsatisfactory. 
Meurer's Guide, in German, is admirably illus- 
trated, the plates giving, in fact, an epitome of all 
that is grand and striking in the scenery of this 
enchanting district. We were told at Cook's 
office in Rome that at their agency in Venice we 



BY A WAY WE KNEW NOT. 281 

could procure all the information, maps and tick- 
ets we desired or would require. Serene in this 
assurance, we neglected to improve some opportu- 
nities for acquiring information from passing 
friends and tourists, and finally when in Venice we 
walked up '^ to the Captain^s office to settle," were 
told they ''knew nothing about the country and 
had never had a map or ticket." Yet upon a clear 
day, from the beautiful city of the lagoons, far 
away may be seen glowing and gleaming against 
the horizon blue, the mountains of the unknown 
district ! Perhaps if one speaks German, French 
and Italian fluently, the difficulty would not be so 
serious, for a shred of information could be ac- 
quired here and a bit picked up there, but unfor- 
tunately it is not every tourist who has so many 
strings to his linguistic bow. Possibly, too, in 
London some useful literature could be found. 
From an old acquaintance. Rev. Alexander Rob- 
ertson, D. D., some time a resident and a most 
efficient philanthropic and religious worker in 
Venice, we finally procured sufficient information 
to start us upon our way rejoicing. Several 
weeks later Dr. Robertson commenced the publica- 
tion in the Paris, N. Y. Herald of a series of 
articles, which is now offered in book form, under 
the title of ''Through the Dolomites," quite the 
most convenient, compact and instructive com- 
panion available. But he touches lightly, — almost 
ignores, in fact, — Panaveggio, San Martino and 
Primiero, which to us (especially San Martino) 
were the most delightful of all. If one is m 



280 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

tion was first drawn bj Monsieur Dolomieux, a 
French savant^ who in 1789-90 travelled, explored 
and studied much in the district, and whose name 
is easily recognized and embalmed in the coined 
word, "Dolomite." It is an interesting fact that 
the mountains are not entirely of this peculiar for- 
mation, the tallest of all being only so at the top. 
To the artist it means a wilderness of striking 
effects and a wealth of fabulous color, compared 
with which even Switzerland is tame. To the 
Alpine climber it offers a comparatively new field 
with sufficient of the fascinating element of dan- 
ger and an abundant prospect of easily broken 
neck or bones, — while to the common tourist who 
looks only from the standpoint of the picturesque, 
it unrolls a panorama so novel, so unlike all else 
in Europe, as to seem of another continent or 
world. Ignorance, however, even at this late day, 
of routes, modes of travel and accommodations, is 
quite pardonable, especially if one finds himself 
unexpectedly in Italy and wishing to reach Inns- 
bruck, desires to take the Dolomite country on the 
way, for the literature upon the subject, in English 
at least, such as guide-books, simple maps, etc., 
is very meagre, and reliable and serviceable infor- 
mation exasperatingly difficult to obtain. Baede- 
ker's "Eastern Alps" is most unsatisfactory. 
Meurer's Guide, in German, is admirably illus- 
trated, the plates giving, in fact, an epitome of all 
that is grand and striking in the scenery of this 
enchanting district. We were told at Cook's 
office in Rome that at their agency in Venice we 



BY A WAY WE KNEW NOT. 281 

could procure all the information, maps and tick- 
ets we desired or would require. Serene in this 
assurance, we neglected to improve some opportu- 
nities for acquiring information from passing 
friends and tourists, and finally when in Venice we 
walked up ^^to the Captain's office to settle," were 
told they ^^ knew nothing about the country and 
had never had a map or ticket." Yet upon a clear 
day, from the beautiful city of the lagoons, far 
away may be seen glowing and gleaming against 
the horizon blue, the mountains of the unknown 
district ! Perhaps if one speaks German, French 
and Italian fluently, the difficulty would not be so 
serious, for a shred of information could be ac- 
quired here and a bit picked up there, but unfor- 
tunately it is not every tourist who has so many 
strings to his linguistic bow. Possibly, too, in 
London some useful literature could be found. 
From an old acquaintance. Rev. Alexander Rob- 
ertson, D. D., some time a resident and a most 
efficient philanthropic and religious worker in 
Venice, we finally procured sufficient information 
to start us upon our way rejoicing. Several 
weeks later Dr. Robertson commenced the publica- 
tion in the Paris, N. Y. Herald of a series of 
articles, which is now offered in book form, under 
the title of '* Through the Dolomites," quite the 
most convenient, compact and instructive com- 
panion available. But he touches lightly, — almost 
ignores, in fact, — Panaveggio, San Martino and 
Primiero, which to us (especially San Martino) 
were the most delightful of all. If one is m 



283 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

Venice and wishes to go north as rapidly and with 
as little delay as possible^ he can travel by train in 
about five hours to Belluno, and then by carriage 
ending at Toblach, make a most satisfactory trip, 
but thereby he will lose this most charming portion 
of the country. From Venice to Botzen on the 
Brenner Pass railway, may seem a roundabout 
course, but it will abundantly compensate for the 
few additional hours consumed, while if time is 
not limited, it can be most pleasantly and profit- 
ably varied by a stop at Verona. If, however, one 
is in the north, Botzen is a most convenient start- 
ing place, being in close and direct communication 
by rail with Innsbruck. Let it be understood at 
the beginning that these papers are not intended 
for Alpine climbers or hardy pedestrians, but 
rather for the goodly number of common folk who 
must needs keep to the high-road and be comfort- 
able in mind and estate : for those, who otherwise 
might be deterred by needless fear of undue fatigue 
and hardship, and that they aim only to be a rec- 
ord of a most delightful personal experience dur- 
ing an easy and feasible tour, when considerably 
worn and wearied by travel in the Orient, — through 
a not generally familiar country. 

The consciousness that for two or three weeks 
at least, there was to be no more compulsory sight- 
seeing, no churches, no palaces and no picture- 
galleries, which in " duty bound " one must see be- 
cause ^^you may never come this way again," 
alone reconciled us to turning our faces, upon a 
peerless June morning, away from brilliant, fas- 



BY A WAY WE KNEW NOT. 283 

cinating Venice, all glowing and basking in a flood 
of golden sunshine. What a poetic, idyllic way of 
reaching a prosaic railway station it is to sit under 
a pretty awning, upon a warm summer day, in a 
quaint, solemn gondola and glide noiselessly past 
marble palaces rising like apparitions from the 
glistening waters, or to thread one's way through 
narrow, shadowy side canals, often wondering how 
he can pass the various craft without collision or 
harm ! Being strongly advised, we decided to go 
by rail to Belluno and thence by carriage the re- 
mainder of the route. It was a mistake, for when 
we reached Toblach at the termination, we were so 
unsatisfied, — so unwilling to turn away, perhaps 
forever, without seeing San Martino di Castrozza, 
that we took a train to Botzen and made the entire 
tour, which involved of course a repetition of that 
from Belluno to Toblach. One could take it, 
though, a dozen times without loss of freshness or 
novelty, so varied and changing are the colors and 
moods of those weird, cloud-like forms. Leaving 
Venice our way crossed the shallow lagoons, 
coursed along mile after mile over a level country 
every rod of which apparently had been *^'^ tickled 
with a hoe " and upon which the earth was fiist 
bringinor forth her increase. Such a stretch of soft 
delicious verdure ! — fields of grain, trees with the 
ever-graceful festoons of thousands of grape-vines, 
pretty villas half hidden by a screen of trees, and 
picturesque villages fairly glowing with sunshine ! 
One hour of this, with tlie glad, exultant conscious- 
ness that we were in the country and that every mile 



234 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

and every fleeting hour were bringing us nearer 
to the mountains which, dim and spectral, were 
so enshrouded and enveloped in the soft haze and 
white floating clouds as to seem at times almost as 
temporary and evanescent, brought us to Treviso, 
where a change of trains was made. For a while 
there was little to note, for it was only a cool de- 
licious sweep of greenness with a multitude of 
flowering shrubs, and around every villa, or hang- 
ing over trellis and wall, great masses of pink and 
blush roses. It seemed as if all the world was 
level, save the horizon line of shadowy and snow- 
tipped mountains, but it was so restful and quiet- 
ing we sat and looked and looked without thought 
of anything but present bliss. Some three and a 
half hours later, after waiting fifteen minutes at a 
way station while the engine and freight car went 
down the track and were switched off to a side 
building where a huge cask was rolled on (a most 
droll performance), we entered almost immediate- 
ly a narrow mountain valley or pass, and were in 
the blessed, enfolding shadows of the eternal hills 
at last ! Between Venice and Belluno, our desti- 
nation and the terminus of the road, an ascent of 
twelve hundred feet is gradually made. The road 
overhung the rapid shallow river Piave, with plenty 
of lee room for the torrent it must become at cer- 
tain times of the year, and looked across upon a 
mountain range, verdant to the summit save 
patches of bare brown rock and a carriage road cut 
from its face, bordered by a stone parapet, — a 
thread of gray in tremulous line through the 






BY A WAY WE KNEW NOT. 285 

mantle of green. The mountains bonnding up at 
once without the hesitation and dwarfing of '^ foot 
hills " gave perhaps from the car window an im- 
pression of height greater than they possessed. 
The sky darkened and a shower came, and that 
which a few moments before had seemed so glad 
and exultant in the glowing sunshine and dreamy 
haze now became grim and sombre. It was a 
lovely rapidly bending and curveting valley. One 
moment we would look through a beautiful vista 
of mountains, piled one above, opposite and along 
side of one another ; again, against a massive wall 
of green, and sweeping around a curve, would look 
backward and forward upon the battlemented hills 
which, green to their summits, enclosed us. It 
seemed as if at base and far up the sides every 
rod that could be filched from nature in her 
wildest mood had been patiently cultivated. All 
the way we wondered why Italians go to our far- 
away land and work on railroads when all this 
cultivation and pastoral life lies at their feet. Ere 
long, upon one side, high up in the rain clouds, peer- 
ing above the banks of vapor or standing out against 
the sombre sky, appeared strange, weird shapes, 
'^ aiguilles,"' great pointed peaks ; long, ragged 
serrated ridges, and we exclaimed, — ''The Dolo- 
mites,'' although we knew the time of the Dolo- 
mites in all their glory, was not yet. They were 
the evangels, the forerunners, that gave us a most 
thrilling and exciting suggestion of the treasures 
of the land. As in every mountain region, the 
rapidly moving train showed us a succession of 



286 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

enchanting pictures, in the wayside houses, the 
little clustered villages, half buried in verdure 
beneath the shadows of the hills ; here a bridge, 
there a rippling cascade and always something to 
make one wish he could stop a few moments. 
Ere the valley widened, we passed a lofty, pro- 
jecting rocky cliff, crowned upon its very edge by 
the extensive convent of ^^ Madonna della Kocca,'' 
with church and tall campanile. Like many an- 
other Italian conventual building or walled town, 
it was so close to the edge of the precipice that 
it would seem as if only a slight seismic disturb- 
ance would send it rapidly to the depths below. 
The valley broadened ; the mountains were all 
around ; we were in the heart of them ! Soon we 
saw Feltre, like all Italian towns, a most pictur- 
esque huddle of houses, tiled roofs and square 
campaniles. The rain had ceased, although the 
clouds were evidently gathering to put in some 
good night work. The widening valley afforded 
still more sweeping views of the surrounding 
mountains. Oh ! the glory, the strange impres- 
siveness of the sharp pointed Dolomitic peaks that 
occasionally rose against the sky with touch of 
snowy white ! Along a broad fertile valley, — past 
villages, — past white campaniles rising from green 
copses, we sped for an hour, always with grand, 
lofty and beautiful mountain forms bounding the 
outline of our vision on every side, and then we 
came to Belluno, just as the clouds were closing 
in and a generous sprinkle told of the coming 
rain. 



I 



A GRACIOUS OPENING. 

Belluno, beautiful for situation, ujion a level 
plain lifted high and abruptly above the junction 
of the swift-flowing Piave and Arno, with a su- 
perb surrounding of lofty mountains, proved a most 
interesting and pleasant old town, while the more 
than comfortable and attractive Hotel des Alpes, 
where for a portion of the time we were the only 
guests, made our sojourn most restful and enjoy- 
able. The rain fell fitfully and heavily all that 
first evening, but in the intervals Ave had a most 
bewitching vision of the great, white, ghost-like 
clouds stalking stealthily along the deep blue 
mountain sides, with strange majestic motion not 
soon to be forgotten. We awoke to a perfect 
Sabbath day, ''so sweet, so calm,"' with blue sky, 
white lazily floating clouds and warmth and sun- 
shine everywhere. In the early hours we strolled 
away from the little town along a smooth country 
road, bordered where there were villas or gardens, 
with high walls and elsewhere with tangled hedges 
of hawthorns, privet, clematis and elm, with views 
over long, sloping hillsides anddeep verdant valleys, 
and upon great solemn mountain peaks that were 
a perpetual surprise and delight. Away off upon 
a hillside, rising from clustered trees, gleamed a 

287 



288 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

white campanile, — here and there a villa, and once 
in a while a hamlet, to which probably, distance 
lent enchantment, while upon the still air sounded 
the striking of far-away bells, not always exactly 
musical, but in strange harmony with the Sabbath 
scene. Frequently upon the road would appear 
groups of peasants, attired in their best, wending 
their way toward the town, making many a pretty 
and picturesque effect. The wild flowers dotted 
the meadows and along the tangled hedges gleamed 
many a mass of pink and white single wild roses or 
sweet-brier. A walk in the opposite direction led 
us through the town, which is very quaint and 
pretty and amazing in its cleanliness. A large 
open plaza, faced by a curve of fine buildings, a 
church and orphanage, with arcades and pretty 
shops, gives it an important air. It was as quiet 
a Sunday as would be found in a New England 
hamlet, — the little shops being closed, — every one 
attired in his best and apparently at leisure, — the 
Duomo well filled and nothing to mar or break the 
Sabbath stillness and expression, save the sounds 
of a few peripatetic vendors of fruits and sweets, 
and upon the plaza, several double swinging-boats, 
filled with rustics, and surrounded by an admiring 
crowd. The duomo, like many another Italian 
ecclesiastical building, is constructed of rough 
brick, which, until covered with a veneer or jacket 
of marble, presents a mean and poverty-stricken 
exterior. Many never have their nakedness cov- 
ered. This poor duomo has waited long, — is 
waiting still and is likely to wait Iqx its Qutwsiirci 



I 



A GRACIOUS OPENING. 289 

glory of choice marble and precious stones. Close 
to it rises a superb campanile with an odd slant- 
ing base. There is a peculiar charm and dignity 
about these tall Italian towers, crowned with lan- 
tern or loggia more or less ornate. True, they 
lack the florid beauty of elaborately ornamented 
Gothic towers and spires, but for simple dignity 
and unpretentious beauty, these tall towers spring- 
ing up so high in straight lines, and then budding 
into cupola or peak, are incomparable. They 
harmonize, too, so exquisitely with both the level 
plains and the lofty, towering mountains above. 
The summit of this is surmounted by a bronze 
figure of its patron saint. The prefattura or 
municipal building is architecturally very fine, 
with arcade, clock tower, Venetian clustered win- 
dows, and niches with bronze busts of Victor Em- 
manuel II. and Garibaldi, and palms and marble 
slabs with the names of the Bellunose who were 
slain in the struggle for Italian independence, and 
a record of the result of the plebescite which con- 
stituted Victor Emmanuel King of United Italy. 
How unlike our cold northern race they are ! 
They fairly effervesce and manifest their emotion 
in many a tablet, bust, or statue, in less time than 
it takes our people to raise money for a single one. 
In the older part of the town is the ancient church 
of San Stefano, of much interest, and beside its 
door, an antique Roman sarcophagus with sculptur- 
ings and inscriptions. But, weary with sight-see- 
ing, our chief joy was in strolling or driving in 
the vicinity of the town, looking into the depths 
II 



290 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

of the verdant valleys and off upon the mountain 
heights which are in such marked contrast^ being 
atone side just grand, sloping, towering ranges ; to 
the other^ sharp pinnacles and peaks, — the fan- 
tastic shapes of the Dolomite country. One day 
was devoted to a carriage excursion to Agordo, 
which lies some eighteen or twenty miles up in the 
Cordevole Valley. Our course commenced at once 
a gradual ascent, by a smooth, hedge-bounded white 
highway. The air was warm and delicious, and 
over the mountains toward and between which we 
were to drive, thin, white, fleecy masses of lumi- 
nous vapor like a bridal veil, wreathed and floated 
away and passed their sun-tipped summits, while 
down the sides lay white, cotton-like clouds, with 
often, peering above, the strange needle-like 
peaks. For a way the lovely country road was 
along a wide, deep, verdant valley, overlooking a • 
finished landscape, and then with new beauty it f 
curved and wound through cool, green woods, with 
often, at end of the vista, a far-away, cloud-tipped 
" monarch of the glen.^" Along the way, the banks 
and meadows were as full of a great variety of brill- 
iant wild flowers as the slopes and plains of far-away 
Palestine. As we neared the mountains, the road 
fairly hugged their bases and overhung the rapid 
Cordevole. Before us, silent, solemn and grand, 
rose great shattered peaks with summits lost in 
summer clouds. We entered the valley along 
whose solitary and enchanting course and depth 
we were to pass for the coming two and one-half 
hours, seeing in the middle distance a most exten- 



I 



J\ 



A GRACIOUS OPENING. 291 

give certosa or monastery, a group of fine large 
and small buildings with an attendant campanile. 
Soon we were swallowed up in a narrow, winding, 
abruptly curving valley with jagged peaks high 
above us, and, owing to the circuitous road, a con- 
stantly changing panorama of Alpine-like heights. 
Occasionally a narrow rent in these great encom- 
passing walls, revealed a lateral gorge, dark with 
shadows or with gray grass-covered ledges tipped 
fascinatingly with glints of sunshine, while in the 
blue loaded atmosphere rose breathlessly, slender 
peaks, and upon opposite range lay great shadows 
of passing clouds. Like the apsidal end of some 
grand cathedral choir rose before us, high in the 
cr3^stal air, the gray bastion-like walls and slender 
turrets of Monte Colei. We stopped at a small 
rude wayside Albergo at Stanga for a half hour, 
and while the horses were resting walked back the 
narrow cleft to a little lateral gorge with a rapid 
stream and cool, shadowy, fern-filled depths, and 
were even more impressed Avith the wild rugged 
grandeur of the lonely canon. The nearer mount- 
ains soon after grew more white, bare and precipi- 
tous. As we passed a waterfall, a long plume of 
white foam hanging against the rocky mountain 
face, we were even the more reminded of Norway. 
In fact, all the morning the scenery was more Scan- 
dinavian than Alpine, because upon a smaller 
scale, although without any sacrifice of beauty or en- 
joyment. Rapidly the valley narrowed to a gorge, 
with great, white, frowning, precipitous and piti- 
less walls. Midway from one lofty barrier spouted 



393 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

a small stream which fell in a slender thread to 
the river below, — literally water coming from the 
rock, — the more striking and curious as there was 
no snow deposit visible to melt and feed it, and for 
hundreds of feet above the aperture not a ledge or 
break could be detected in the well-nigh smooth 
face of the rock. Crossing the gorge we came, 
some three hours after leaving, to a fine stone 
bridge, " Ponte Alto,^"* in the narrowest part of 
the pass, defended by fortifications of stone pierced 
with port-holes commanding every possible ap- 
proach, — which in 1848 was the scene of a fear- 
ful struggle. The pass at this point is scarcely 
more than a defile, and is peculiarly wild and de- 
fiant with the great white limestone precipices 
frowning upon either side. The bridge bounding 
across the chasm adds to the picturesqueness and 
gives also a superb view in either direction. The 
road crosses from one side to the other some four 
or five times in the course of the drive. Farther 
on, the road bends and doubles and makes a rapid 
ascent. As we crossed the gorge, above and be- 
yond, we looked upon another bridge spanning 
the ravine close by, framing in with its rude lofty 
trestlework and arch an exquisite picture of rapid 
green river, precipitous rocky sides, a lovely valley 
and distant hills. A sudden turn revealed, some 
way ahead, numerous rude structures and 
'^^ works" connected with the government copper 
mines, at the entrance of which they are situated. 
A most peculiar effect is produced by the chryso- 
prase waters below, breaking over numberless 



I 



A GRACIOUS OPENING. 293 

boulders and stones, stained along the water^s edge 
a brilliant flame or orange tint. The valley 
broadened and lost much of its wildness, and at 
high noon we drove into Agordo which, like all of 
these closely built Italian towns, is most picturesque 
in approach. We clattered along the crooked and 
narrow streets, brilliant with carnations and roses 
in window boxes or upon ledges, until we came into 
a large open plaza, " fit for a king,^^ to the Albergo 
dell Miniere. We had read the day before Miss 
Edward^s experience at this inn and had many 
misgivings ; but they gave us a delicious and well- 
cooked dejeuner, beginning with a most j^ala- 
table potage and ending with a great abundance of 
mountain strawberries. The great plaza is a green, 
faced by the hotel ; opposite is a fine large munici- 
pal building, and, upon two other sides, dwellings 
and a fine large mansion with pretty balconies, a 
corner garden with tall iron fence and sixteen stone 
posts supporting as many statues ; all, however, 
rapidly falling into decay. The town is said to have 
a population of three thousand, but a very small 
proportion of that number was visible that day. 
It looks and probably is poor, but like the Black 
Forest and Switzerland, the numerous houses with 
fancy balconies and projecting roofs, make numy 
a most effective tableau. After lunch we walked 
a long way toward Caprile, some twelve miles dis- 
tant, the road to which passes finally through a 
still more wild and narrow valley than the one by 
which we came, As in Switzerland, the extent of 
cultivated land is astonishing, for even way up on 



294 TH£^ COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

the mountain sides are seen numerous fields appar- 
ently well tended. The fields around Agordo were 
merry with haymakers. The people impress one 
as an industrious, hard-working class, with little 
of the " happy-go-lucky " air of the more south- 
ern provinces. But the air is stronger, the cli- 
mate more bracing, and as a sequence, the people 
are sturdier. The surrounding view is very fine, 
for imposing and towering mountain peaks in 
groups rise on every side, around which the clouds 
gather most fascinatingly and enchantingly. We 
watched the storm clouds roll along and dash 
against the towering peaks and tumble as it were 
upon us in the valley in rain. At four o^clock we 
started upon our return drive. We had seen the 
mountain barriers in the morning against a sky of 
blue and bathed in sunshine. Now for a while we 
were to look upon them cool, dark and sombre, 
with clouds around and above them, and here and 
there a patch of blue. Although we lost some of 
the outlines and occasionally a peak, we thought 
it even more enjoyable and impressive than in the 
earlier hours. We passed the ^'^rain centre," and 
in a provokingly brief time came again into the 
valley overlooked by sunlit mountain summits. 
The hush of evening was upon the country as we 
came into the ^'^ open "and for an hour drove 
quietly along, overlooking the wide, highly culti- 
vated valley, and a few minutes of seven reached 
" des Alpes," happy with the memory of another 
glorious day close within Nature^s heart of hearts. 



m THE HEART OF THEM. 

0:n'E whose time is limited will lose little of the 
peculiar characteristics of the Dolomite region by 
scarcely stopping at Belluno, for, although pleas- 
ing and attractive, the startling and weird effects 
in all their profusion and grandeur are only met 
with farther along the way. Extreme weariness 
of the flesh and a decided unwillingness to take 
any portion of so short a driving tour in unfavor- 
able weather, or with the wonderful peaks envel- 
oped or half hidden by the clouds, kept us there 
for some days, every hour of which, however, was 
enjoyable. The morning of our departure, after 
a night of rain, dawned unusually fair and glori- 
ous, and almost every peak and outline of sur- 
rounding mountains stood out clear-cut against 
the warm blue or an occasional white floating cloud. 
About eight o'clock we were seated in a landau, wav- 
ing our good-bye to pretty Belluno with the parting 
assurance that, owing to the downpour of the night, 
the road would be so heavy that we would be 
six hours instead of four, going to Tai, our next 
resting place. Crossing the Piave and the deep 
ravine through which it flows, after clattering 
through the marketplace and town, we looked back 
from the opposite hillside upon Belluno, upon its 
elevated plateau against the background of distant 



^96 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

heights. The tall campanile of San Stephano stood 
directly before us, beyond which, in the sunshine, 
appeared the onion-like terminal of the Duomo 
tower with its winged saint of bronze, and then 
we saw no more of Belluno, until, an hour later, 
we looked back from a turn in the road and saw it 
enthroned and brilliant with sunshine. The road 
lay along the valley, pointing to a pass, and, be- 
tween the unusually fine view of the mountains, the 
rushing stream in the valley-depths, the little ham- 
lets and the rustic haymakers, was most enjoyable. 
For awhile the valley narrowed and the road 
hugged close or was cut from the rock-face, while 
ahead the hills closed in and the valley apparently 
terminated with several jagged teeth-like peaks, 
then broadened, and we looked upon a river bed so 
wide and sandy as to suggest the bed of a former 
lake. Upon a plateau on opposite bank was 
perched a pretty village, beyond, a lateral gorge re- 
vealed a multitude of tossed and tumbled heights, 
— through a ravine appeared a regular spelling 
class of sharp pinnacles, each apparently deter- 
mined to be '^ up head." A slight haze imparted a 
dreamy mystical appearance to even the most 
austere heights. Again the valley widened, and 
way ahead loomed mountains above mountains with 
three or four great Dolomitic peaks with heads 
lost in the clouds. The river makes the industry 
of this Ampezzo valley, which shows itself in the 
numerous saw-mills, piles of lumber and rafts and 
countless logs which farther on become most inter- 
esting. In two hours we reached Longarone, where 



IN THE HEART OF THEM. 297 

the horses rested for an hour and we visited the 
tiny church of San Liberals, called the smallest in 
Italy. It was of little interest apart from its size, 
that of a good-sized room. 

Directly after leaving Longarone the valley 
closed in, the road passed down a steep incline, 
the air became heavy with odor of elderberry blos- 
soms and the views became superb. Far below, 
level with the river, was a large tract, beau- 
tifully laid out with winding paths, shrubbery and 
trees close to a large mansion which we were not 
surprised to learn belonged to a Scotchman, for 
wherever the English or Scotch go, the flower 
garden in all its glory is sure to go also ! For 
awhile the scene in both directions was breathlessly 
fine and decidedly Alpine. In the retrospect we 
saw Longarone, and towering solitary and alone 
on the opposite side of the valley, a great colum- 
nar height called the " Hen's Beak," while in the 
vista before us appeared the village of Castel La- 
vazzo. A mile or so beyond, the valley narrows and 
bends and there is seen through the one long street 
of Termine, rising upon the opposite side, a great, 
lofty, tawny yellow crag with sides garlanded witli 
clouds and summit hidden by them. A little 
waterfall drops from an opposing rock like a slen- 
der plume, and withal this was the finest point 
in the valley. The grandeur and impressiveness of 
this dark and narrow gorge with the sharp tower- 
ing Dolomitic heights, are quite indescribable. 
One is bewildered and confused by the varied, 
spectacular and breathless effects, and ere the mind 



20S THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

is composed and the scenes fixed in the memory, 
lo I the rapidly-moving carriage brings one face to 
face with new combinations and wonders. One 
feels so little, so minute, in the presence of such 
grand and lofty heights, that words to express the 
confused emotions that crowd mind and heart 
fail to come at command. Gfradually the road 
which hugged the face of the rocky precipices, 
buttressed with walls and supports, bent and 
turned with every variation of its rugged outline 
and overlooking the rapid Piave, upon which were 
frequently seen huge rafts of timber, descended 
and passed through hamlets and forlorn villages to 
the bed of the valley, where at last we came into a 
great open space formed by the intersection of two 
valleys and the confluence of the Boite and Piave 
and in full sight of Perarola. Glimpses of the 
highest peaks (8474 ft.) of the Premaggiore range 
came in view and just before we reached the '' Oor- 
rono d'Oro," for a moment all tijoped with 
clouds, we saw Antelao, one of the greatest 
of the giant Dolomites. Here we rested for 
two hours and were provided with a most de- 
licious lunch. The situation is most pictur- 
esque, — the outlook charming. To one side lay 
the village below, upon opposite hillslope a hamlet 
with many a Swiss balcony, between the river 
dashing impetuously along, bearing countless logs, 
and all around grand old mountain monarchs. 
But the clouds gathered and the customary shower 
descended. When it had quite cleared we began, 
by a fine road, to ascend the very face and side of 



IN THE HEART OF THEM. 299 

formidable Mount Zucco, wliieli wiis carried in long 
zigzags cut from the rock, guarded by a parapet 
of stone, and which commanded magnificent views 
over the adjacent valleys. The weather is a fickle 
thing the world over. In less than a half-hour 
the clouds gathered and the rain fell heavily and 
steadily and the carriage-top had to be closed, 
much to our regret, for the road followed around 
the heights, overlooking always between evergreen 
woods, the deepening valley and looking off upon 
a range of superb mountains. A little after four 
we reached the Albergo Venezia, beautifully 
located upon the hillside, five minutes above the 
village of Tai, which we had watched for a long 
way from the road below. A second story veranda 
faced the great Pre-maggiore range, — a mighty 
procession of solemn peaks, while to the west and 
south rose several peaks with snow-crested mount- 
ains beyond. Gazing quietly from our windows, 
in the very early hours of the following day, was 
like looking into some solemn sanctuary, — some 
high and holy place. Towards the soutliwest, 
bounded lofty heights, wooded and green a long 
way up. In a dip in the outline, appeared far 
away a range of snowy peaks. In the foreground 
lay the little village, the middle distance being a 
sea of green, and over it all, in long slants and 
bars, the light of the coming day, and a hush and 
stillness that might be felt,— an atmosphere of 
solemn, spiritual, and poetical suggestiveness. 
With singular vividness came the remembrance of 
Guido's peerless Aurora, with the God of Day in 



300 TflE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

just such a flood of golden light, surrounded by 
the glad, earnest hours, as we had seen it upon 
palace walls in far-away Eome. About a mile east 
from the Albergo, perched as upon a saddle of the 
hills, and overlooked by a castellated or fortified 
height, is the village of Pieve de Cadore, especially 
interesting as the birthplace of Titian. The quaint 
irregular house, the sight of the place, is most ef- 
fectively located, facing an open space, ornamented 
with a fountain, just out of the great central plaza 
of the village, and has slanting roofs and pictur- 
esque chimneys, and a variety of uninteresting 
occupants. A small room with one window is 
shown as that in which the Old Master first saw 
the light in 1477. It did not seem calculated to 
give to a new-comer a very cheerful impression of 
this world and life, to say the least. In the large, 
almost triangular plaza, around which huddles the 
various places of interest, is a fine bronze statue of 
the great painter. It boasts a municipal building 
in which are some richly carved wood ceilings and 
a tower at the base of which is a pyramidal memo- 
rial to Calvi and other patriots who laid down life 
in the troublous times of 1848-55. Near by stands 
the Palazzo Zampieri, said to have been the resi- 
dence of Titian's grandfather, a most interesting 
building in which we passed through a damp, 
dingy hall, up a stone staircase to an upper hall 
with queer antique chairs, and into the '^ salon/' 
where, upon the wall, but enclosed by a frame or 
guard, is a fresco said to have been executed by 
Titian in his thirteenth year ! Be this as it may. 



IN THE HEART OF THEM. 301 

there is something in the child figure, kneeling 
before the Madonna, which suggests vividly the 
lovely one of the Virgin in the matchless ''Pres- 
entation/"* at Venice. This seems a marked 
peculiarity of Titian, for many figures and faces 
in his earlier works are recognizable, developed 
and perfected in his later ones. In the duomo, a 
few hundred feet away, is one figure strikingly 
similar to one in ^' Sacred and Divine Love " so 
long in the Borghese Palace in Rome. In a side 
chapel is a Madonna and child, with two officials 
in adoration and Titian himself in the background, 
all the faces being family portraits. Over the high 
altar is a beautifully grouped " Last Supper," by 
a brother of Titian. In a small museum, a charm- 
ing clerical brother showed us with genuine en- 
thusiasm a most interesting collection of engrav- 
ings of his works, also his " Patent of Nobility," 
beautifully engrossed and illuminated upon parch- 
ment. We also visited the Solero Palace, with fine 
old carved settles and chairs, — hall and library ; 
but the proprietor, being absent, we were obliged 
to pass much we would liked to have examined. 
Perhaps midway between Pieve and Tai is the 
wayside church known as the " Santissimo Croci- 
fisso," so named because it contains a most remark- 
able crucifix, found in 1540, buried in an adjacent 
field, by a husbandman while ploughing. The in- 
cident is pictured upon the tympanum of the 
classic front portico. It is a hideous-looking ob- 
ject, dark in color, with natural hair, and the 
blood pouring from the wounds, and is placed in 



303 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

a glass case above the high altar. The supposition 
is it was buried where found by some one of the 
retreating armies of the troublous time of long ago. 
Some delightful excursions can be most con- 
veniently and comfortably made from Tai, even 
by those who are limited to carriage drives. One 
glorious day must ever live in our memory, that 
upon which we drove to Auronzo and San Stefano. 
The day was peerless, and at an early hour we 
were oft in an open carriage, wishing that every 
one could look upon the beautiful, unfolding 
scene, for it was a vision of all that is beautiful 
and grand and our way the livelong day a royal 
progress. We passed through '' Pieve di Oadore,^' 
and then, what a surprise, what a revelation of 
beauty, in a prolonged decline, overlooking a great 
open valley, surrounded by the breathlessly lofty 
mountains ! Wide valley does not express it. 
It is rather a great undulating, wave-tossed sea 
of green, dotted with villages, in the encircling 
embrace of everlasting hills. Looking backward, 
the view was superb, — a magnificent sweep, — bold 
single mountain spurs, — Pieve di Cadore glisten- 
ing upon its ridge, and always the weird, strange 
horizon mountains. The road turned into coves 
and suddenly, against the sky above, a deep dip 
in the outline of the nearer mountains, rose the 
great snow-touched mass of " Marmarola,^^ a 
group of sharp gray peaks lined with yellow and 
seamed with white. It was a breathless and daz- 
zling vision on that glorious sunny day ! It 
seemed as if every moment revealed some new and 



I 



J 



IN THE HEART OF THEM. 303 

beautiful effect. Following the banks or walls of 
a deep ravine we descended rapidly to a pictur- 
esque bridge, beside which, upon a support or 
foundation of great water-worn, columnar rocks, 
stood a tiny church, with steep, pitched roof and 
a little campanile. The early morning, the uni- 
form verdancy, the great variety of surface and 
the wonderful mountain forms made it perfect. 
Sometimes great masses of evergreens, again, in 
break of horizon hills, great jagged, teeth-like 
crags and peaks, and something to call forth an 
ejaculation of delight at every rod. At the end 
of an hour the valley narrowed, and ere long we 
came to the confluence of the Piave and the 
Ansici, where is a most singular and picturesque 
stone bridge, the ^'Tre Ponte," consisting of 
three arches spanning the two streams and a ravine, 
all uniting and resting upon a central pier, above 
which three roads met. We were told that it was 
the scene of a fearful and final struggle in 1866 
in the war with Austria. Leaving the Piave, 
wdiich we had literally in sight all the way from 
Belluno, we turned into a wild, narrowing valley, 
through whose cool, shady depths flowed the 
Ansici. It was the " Val di Auronzo," with lofty 
hillsides dark and lustrous with evergreens and 
every rod a combination of beautiful groupings 
and effects. Within a half hour we came to a 
great curving bend, when, like a pictured canvas, 
lay before us a broad valley with a ramblingj 
straggling village and a huge white-domed church 
which, had we been in the East, we would have 



304 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

said was a mosque. All around were the wonderful 
encircling mountains, and towering above all else 
in tlie extreme distance the three mountain obe- 
lisks of the '' Drei-Zinnen/' which we knew 
from photographs. It was a marvellous outlook, 
this extensive, verdant valley with its rapid foam- 
ing river, its forests of laurel and firs, and the 
great encircling silent heights, all in a blaze of 
morning sunlight ! We drove through the long 
straggling rows of houses and Albergos, ere we 
came to the one where we were to rest the horses, 
and lunch, and then we walked on to the end of 
the village. Many of the houses are Swiss in 
style, in that they have fanciful outside balconies 
and wdde projecting eaves. As many of them 
have no chimneys, but only holes along the ceil- 
ing to allow the smoke to escape, they are stained 
almost black, and look horribly unhealthy and 
unattractive. As we have passed through the 
country we have been much interested in, and 
amused by, the kitchen fires. A.i the Albergo 
Venezio at Tai, as well as the one at which we here 
lunched, the fire was made upon a stone hearth or 
platform a foot or more in height. Above this is 
suspended a hood which gathers the smoke and 
carries it to the chimney. Here, a bench or settle 
was built against the wall around three sides of 
the hearth, so that the inmates could sit and toast 
their feet, while the other side was left unob- 
structed for the cook. Very frequently is seen, 
upon the side of the house, that which suggests a 
square bay window. From the centre of the 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 305 

junction of its roof and the main building the 
chimney is carried up, thus making the square 
space possible in the room below. In the better 
class hotels we have seen upon the hearth, most 
elaborate fire-dogs of iron and brass with small 
cranes and chains and a variety of shovels, tongs 
and picks, which are really very ornamental, and 
which need only to be seen by our peripatetic 
countrymen to be transferred to artistic homes 
across the sea. 

Returning by the same road to beyond the Tre 
Ponte, we turned abruptly away, to drive to San 
Stefano. How little we dreamed of what awaited 
us ! How difficult to convey any vivid, truthful 
idea of it ! For soon we turned into a valley so 
contracted and narrow between lofty mountain 
ranges as to be scarcely more than a fissure or 
gorge, with the road cut from and walled up 
against the steep sloping mountain sides. At 
times we fairly hung over the depths, through 
which dashed and roared our old companion, the 
Piave. Upon either side, towering up and up, 
dense green of foliage and the gray of bare mount- 
ain walls ; — above, the great black clouds which 
had come up rapidly ; way below, the beautiful 
innumerable rapids of the river breaking over the 
rocky bed, — while always before us, in and out, 
around projections and, in one place, through a 
tunnel, was the beautiful, white, stone parapeted 
road. For awhile this was all, and then a wide 
curve or bend and a slow gradual descent, — and 
then towering walls of glittering, glistening, bare, 
20 



306 IN THE HEAET OF THEM. 

gray rocky heights. In some places, the sqow and 
ice, glacier-like, flowed down the rifted mountains 
to the river's brink. It was a wonderful drive of 
an hour or more through a constantly changing 
scene of rocky Avails with, through great rifts, 
glimpses of tremendous peaks and crags. One 
huge mass of glistening gray, in its outline and sur- 
face it seemed like a gigantic draped but head- 
less figure. One moment we would be in shadow 
of passing cloud or patter of rain, — the next 
looking up through some gigantic rift at distant 
peaks ablaze with sunlight. We came finally 
into an open verdant valley, brilliant with wild 
flowers, — huge clusters of maroon columbine and 
along the wayside, places blue with forget-me- 
nots. The little village of San Stefano was of no 
interest. A rest of two hours and then we returned 
by the same wonderful canon and the road we 
passed over in the early morning. Eelieved of the 
necessity of being constantly on the '^ qui vive,'' 
or alert, we sat quietly and watched the changing 
effects of the subdued light and lengthening 
shadows over the enchanting scene, until, much 
to our regret, at six o'clock, we reached again 
the Albergo Yenezia at Tai. 



A ROYAL PROGRESS. 

From Tai to Cortina, the best known place in 
the region, the distance is not more than eighteen 
miles, but the character of the country is so en- 
tirely different, the valleys being much broader, 
the mountains, seen at better persj)ective, being 
more weird, bold and overwhelming, and every 
feature, in fact, being upon so much larger a scale, 
that one is silenced, and gazes in a helpless awe and 
wonder that leaves a most confused and bewilder- 
ing remembrance. We passed down the valley 
road through Tai and plunged at once in scenery 
beautiful and fine. The way was circuitous for a 
while, for it followed the course of a deep valley, 
in great loops, looking down into cool depths and 
upon densely wooded heights ; passed through 
Valle, an important village, and through numerous 
hamlets, and continually ascended (Cortina be- 
ing some twelve hundred feet above Tai), and soon 
gave us our first unclouded view of Antelao, a 
sight for a lifetime. At one time quite shut in 
by Mt. Pelmo, but for a long way looking 
along the great trough-like valley, with the 
strange mountain forms, one is fairly dazed 
by the grandeur and oppressiveness of the scene. 
It is quite impossible to express the impression 
this grand, broad valley, with all its turnings, 

307 



308 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

makes ; its revelation of one after another of the 
great peaks of the Dolomites, beginning with 
Pelmo and Eocchetta, and continuing so long with 
majestic Antelao, as to make it seem, in its curving 
and bending, like a single peak, and then a long 
range of them, with strange cross lines of snow, — 
and nearing Cortina, the two wonder-inspiring 
heights of Tofano and Cristallo ! At one place was 
passed a tremendous landslide (1814), a great torrent 
of glaciers, of fine white dolomite, from the slopes 
of Antelao, which, even after the lapse of many- 
years, is still a terrible sight. Two or three villages 
were swept entirely out of existence, leaving noth- 
ing but this white bed of pulverized stone to tell 
the tale. Again, in 1868, a similar disastrous slide 
occurred. Some three or four miles from Cortina 
a red, white and green pole half uplifted above the 
road, several uniformed revenue officers and a 
customs station, and a few moments later a similar 
separating bar of yellow and black, and officials in 
different attire, told us that we had passed the 
magic line that separates sunny Italy from sturdy 
Austria. Fortunately the Austrians were good- 
natured and content to open only one piece of lug- 
gage, for the black clouds were gathering rapidly, 
and before we were fairly off the rain was falling 
heavily. So we lost the immediate approach to 
pretty Cortina, although, when within ten minutes 
of it, we were able to throw the carriage open 
again, and have the whole marvellous scene dis- 
played at a glance. Cortina lies in an amphitheatre, 
or basin, in the heart of an undulating valley. 



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A ROYAL PROGRESS. 309 

which, in great waves of living green meadow-land, 
bounds up to the base of densely woodj3d hills, 
above which rise the strange, weird, single and 
clustered peaks which give to this wild, solitary 
country the name of "The Dolomites." Like a 
handful of brown and white pebbles, it lies in the 
centre of a valley, unique, majestic and grand, 
some four thousand feet above the level of the sea. 
Ordinary mountain forms bound and rock on every 
side in long, graceful, billowy outlines, while here 
and there, tossed high, and as if arrested in mid- 
air, like mighty waves of boundless sea, are seen 
these strange pinnacles, turrets, castle-like battle- 
ments, so unlike any other form save perhaps the 
"Aiguilles" of the Alps, and the fretted points 
which are mirrored so bewitchingly in the calm 
waters of the bay of Uri. No words can describe 
the stately grandeur, the sublime dignity or the 
oppressive loneliness of these tumultuous masses of 
silver gray, which encircle Cortina like an immense 
cyclorama. Seen against a blue sky, uplifted above 
our common air, they possess the impressive seren- 
ity born of dwelling at a holy height and within 
a purified atmosphere. The little town bubbles 
all over with small hotels and lodgings and has 
many pretty shops where the metal and wood mo- 
saic, the carvings, ^ ' hot poker work," and filigree 
silver and gold articles made at the shops of the 
government schools, are displayed. We had en- 
gaged rooms at the Stella d'Oro in the centre of the 
town, not knowing of the Falorio which is perched 
high upon the hillside, commanding a sweep- 



310 THE COUNTRY OF THE, DOLOMITES. 

ing and magnificent view of the cradle-like valley 
and all the gigantic peaks which peep and rise 
above the nearer mountain ranges. Sorelle Bar- 
baric the landlady, unable to speak a word of 
English, received us with outstretched arms and 
fervent welcome. She led us triumphantly up- 
stairs and down, showing the forlorn little ^*^ salon'' 
with as much gusto as if a drawing-room, and 
then, taking us by a Swiss outside balcony to an 
adjoining house, led us to our apartments which, 
because of crucifixions, several Madonnas and a 
doll dressed and crowned ^^Our Lady," seemed 
decidedly religious in tone. Our windows looked 
upon the Plaza, and here and there through the 
tree branches were had glimpses of the surround- 
ing heights. In the plaza was a fountain, evi- 
dently the village water supply, with four spouts 
and an immense bowl, and the amount of gossiping 
and laundering done around it by the simple dames 
was apparently endless. Two churches minister 
to the spiritual needs of the simple folk, one with 
stately campanile of cut stone, fit for a great city. 
In many respects Cortina is the most popular and 
interesting point in a region singularly crowded with 
marvellous and startling combinations. The excur- 
sions, both driving and pedestrian, are numerous 
and satisfying. As the clouds seemed indissolubly 
joined to the mountain tops, the first but other- 
wise fine day of our stay we were content to stroll 
along the high-road and up through meadows 
'' knee-deep with exquisite wild flowers." In 
variety, color, and choiceness the display far ex- 



A ROYAL PROGRESS. 311 

ceeded the flower-starred fields of Holy Land. Xo 
need is there for phi eking a common blossom, or 
what we would call a weed, for there are myriads 
worthy of a choice parterre. One day you may 
return with a symphony in yellow from palest 
canary to deepest russet ; another, with one in 
lilac, running the whole gamut from white to 
heaviest purple, and again with that of fairest and 
most delicate blush to rich and ruddy rose. Small 
pansies by the thousands ; blue forget-me-nots 
so thick that the field in sections will be blue with 
them and a myriad of the dearest and sweetest 
little pink and white flowers innumerable greet 
your every footstep. You stoop instinctively and 
pluck them, wondering what you can do with them, 
with wash-bowl, pitcher and tumbler in your room 
already full, yet unable to withstand the impulse. 
Our second was a day of days ! The first abso- 
lutely and continuously clear day from morn till 
dewy eve we had had since our departure from 
Venice, with a cool, refreshing and life-giving 
breeze and everything to make an excursion to the 
Tre Sassi Pass a success. In a light, comfortable 
carriage with a pair of good sturdy horses that were 
not likely to be a steady drain upon our sympathies 
the livelong day, we started about nine o'clock, and 
crossing the little river Boite, drove directly up the 
opposite hill with fields and meadows beautiful 
with blush of pink, sheen of yellow, glow of purple 
and the lovely blue of forget-me-nots. We could 
have employed a half-dozen sets of eyes, for An- 
telao arose finer than ever before, unobscured by 



313 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOmTES. 

cloud or vapor, from first springing from the 
valley depths to the topmost pinnacles ; — with 
breathless beauty appeared long slanting mountain 
gides, dazzling ridges like roofs covered with snow, 
and beyond, the fretted troubled outlines of 
shattered heights ; — and Tof ano rose in awe-inspir- 
ing shafts against the sky and one solemn height 
and another filled our minds with wonder and 
amazement ! It is so sensational ! Everywhere is 
a horizon line of staid well-behaved mountains, but 
at intervals, upspring without any '^'^ifs or ands,^^ 
the most fantastic, often grotesque and always 
startling shapes and forms ! For a while the grad- 
ually ascending road followed the base of a pre- 
cipitous mountain with brown and yellow face, 
against which, with exquisite effect, rose slender, 
graceful larches. As we climbed in the shadow of 
this great rock, away across the pasturage, gaunt, 
abrupt, and with a wild, turbulent and savage 
grandeur, loomed Mt. Tofano, to a height of over 
eleven thousand feet, like titantic slanting roofs 
and sombre towers. In an open space or " Al^," 
literally •^' set in a high place," we found the 
Albergo Tofano, a small hotel, with a superb view 
way off to the left, over soft fringe of evergreens, of 
towering Sorapis (also 11,000ft.) and mighty An- 
telao and a breathless panorama of all the greater 
heights, seamed with snow and tossed in air and 
fretted in strange likeness unto cathedral towers, 
buttresses, pinnacles and Gothic roofs. As we 
mounted higher through pasture-land and woods 
of evergreen, Sorapis and Antelao grew stupendous 



A ROYAL PROGRESS. 313 

and presented the most glorious and overwhelming 
scene we had yet witnessed. One loves the Swiss 
mountains with their long, bold, but jDeaceful 
lines and suggestions, but these 

-" rear their forms so high, 



Against Heaven's blue dome," 

in such violent and restless sliapes, that one gazes 
at them in a helpless awe that is almost akin to 
fear. By a serpentine road, our way winds through 
thickets of larch and across open pasturages, strik- 
ingly resembling private grounds, with the strange 
apparition through the trees at times, of great 
mountain-peaks bounding high in the crystalline 
atmosphere, and at our feet often the stunted 
heather rapidly growing pink and rosy with the 
fast developing blossoms. It was a marvellous 
drive, first in the sunshine, then beneath the 
feathery larches and over shadow-flecked green ; — 
now above the evergreens, a cathedral spire, tur- 
rets and pinnacles, — anon, the battlemented walls 
of mountain fastnesses and coming into an open 
space face to face with the great yellow and 
gray mass of Tofano against the brilliant blue sky, 
— all in quick succession. Over a hillside covered 
with dense growth of evergreens, peered one mount- 
ain, like a great solitary square tower. These 
masses of strange form, and these wild, rocky 
heights, violate all accepted ideas of what mount- 
ains should be, and compared with the dignified 
Alps appear like freaks or antics. We turned into 
a narrow pass, — the yellow road wriggled on be- 



314 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

tween gray boulders and tall evergreens, and be- 
side a brawling stream, until at 12 M. we reached 
the Ospizio Falzarego (6,535 ft.) at the beginning 
of the Falzarego Pass, a breezy upland closer than 
ever to the great peaks which, as if affronted by 
our temerity, suddenly assumed a strange, unap- 
proachable air. Fifteen minutes later above the 
hill ridge before us stood a rustic cross and against 
the warm blue beyond, the crest of a snow-cov- 
ered mountain. The coachman waved his hand, 
but ere he could call out, we exclaimed, '^ Marmo- 
lata ! " It was evident we were to see more than 
Miss Edwards did, for the skies were clear. Fifteen 
minutes later we came to the terminus of our 
drive, — the Pass of Tre' Sassi, a wild rugged place, 
a great billow, as full of huge boulders as the bed 
of a brook with pebbles. The towering, awe- 
inspiring heights were very close, — we seemed, in 
fact, at their very base. The outline against the 
perfectly blue sky was unspeakably grand and sub- 
lime and the variety of form and frequent fringe 
or cord of snow surpassingly beautiful. From 
among the boulders our eyes swept over a scene 
breathlessly magnificent. Down and down sank 
the valley ! Across it a long, sloping, undulating 
mountain, bronze green with scanty turf at 
summit, but spiked at base with darkest ever- 
greens, and beyond this barrier against the warm 
blue " Marmolata," not in jagged peaks but in 
long wedge-like ridge, with the almost unbroken 
snow-fields covering fully one half of the sloping 
side, the other showin^^ bare rock with snow in 



II 



A ROYAL PROGRESS. 315 

pockets. It was disappointing in so far as we ex- 
pected to see it alone as we had seen Antelao, but 
the nearer hill so obscures its lower slope that 
comjiaratively little is seen, but that little is so un- 
earthly, so unspeakably grand, one wants to see it 
all the time ! But bearing away to the left was a 
regal procession of mountains tossed in easy, 
graceful shapes, like the waves of the sea, crested 
with white. Lying upon an apparently level up- 
land was an immense stretch of unbroken snow, 
like an ermine robe shrouding the form of a king, 
which recalled vividly the effigy upon the royal 
tomb of Kaiser William at Charlottenberg with the 
rich ermine-lined mantle lying in heavy, massive 
folds over the prostrate form and hanging like 
snow in drifts over the base. We sat there for a 
couple of hours seeing soft white cloud-banks arise 
beyond so like them as to seem a continuation of 
a procession of courtiers coming to look upon the 
face of the royal dead. Here and there beyond, 
triangular peaks became as blue as sapphire ! It 
was so still! It seemed a Holy of holies ; a 
glimpse of a spiritual kingdom from a far-away 
Pisgah height ! Oh ! day of days ! we said, surely 
you are not for a day only but for all time, for 
such visions may fade but cannot entirely perish 
from the earth. 

Such an unclouded view is very rare, and as 
usual, we turned away reluctantly. 

On our way down, just before we came to the 
precipice at whose base the road lay almost at be- 
ginning of ascent, we turned into a lovely wood 



816 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

road in the cool shadows of a larch forest and 
came out finally at the Belvedere of Monte Crepa 
where, upon the edge of a hluff a thousand feet 
above Cortina, was a summer-house and a restau- 
rant. The view from it lengthwise of the Ampezzo 
valley was wonderful, for flooded with sunshine it 
lay like a great deep billow, the mountains on 
either side with their fantastic and snowy crests 
corresponding with the wind-tossed waves and 
spray. The view of Sorapis and Antelao was like 
that of another world. As we sat there noting, 
over a cup of afternoon tea, the lines of beauty 
and the wonderful gradations of color, one beside 
me said, ^* Do you see that face in the snow upon 
Antelao ? '^ I looked and in the outline of the snow- 
sloping side, requiring no imagination to decipher, 
lay a great, solemn, peaceful profile and face. The 
forehead, closed eyes, nose, moustache and chin 
were perfect. It was as mysterious as the colossal, 
immovable faces seen in Egyptian illustrations. 
An expression of ineffable peace played around the 
lips, — a purity, as if made whiter than snow, rested 
upon every feature. I have seen many fanciful 
suggestions in nature, but this, save the Profile in 
the White Mountains, surpassed them all. We 
watched it as the summer clouds passed over it, 
and left it placid, peaceful and undisturbed, won- 
dering in our hearts if it were possible so to live 
that the clouds and sorrows of life could leave no 
trace, 

" And not a wave of trouble roll 
Across the peaceful breast I " 



A ROYAL PROGRESS. 317 

So the glorious day found upon the level summit 
of that abrupt precipitous height a strange and 
tranquillizing closing, in the long sweeping view of 
the quiet valley, the solemn company of uplifted 
peaks and this vivid suggestion of absolute and 
"perfect peace." 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 

The pedestrian is to be envied at Cortina, in fact 
all through the Dolomite country, for there are so 
many points only to be, or better, reached on foot, 
and even when driving one wants continually to 
pause and so look at the wonderful and novel com- 
binations of mountains and hills, as to carry away 
a lasting remembrance. Yet there is much that 
can be satisfactorily seen from the carriage, more 
in fact than one can carry away in a single sum- 
mer. The weather had been so fickle that when, 
to our surprise and delight/another perfect day 
dawned, we arranged at once to drive to Tre 
Croce, Lake Misurina and Schluderbach, which 
we had been assured was the most charming 
excursion of all, although better taken in the re- 
verse order. All along we met parties taking the 
greater portion of the route on foot, than which, 
owing to the many beautiful views, nothing could 
be more charming. At nine o^clock, in a very 
small one-seated carriage, with two strong horses, 
we started, having the same gentle, cool breeze as 
yesterday, which seem to come from the snowy 
uplifted ledges to temper the heat of the sun. A 
few rods beyond the Stella d'Oro, we turned from 
the main street of Cortina and commenced at once 
a sharp ascent. Slowly, after getting a permit 

318 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 319 

to cross into Italian territory, which we would do 
at Tre Croce, we climbed up the extended slope 
with a charming retrospect of the verdant valley, — 
little Cortina glittering in the sun, and the cool 
and green opposing slopes. Ere long, save upon 
a distant hillslope a hut peeping out here and 
there, we were without sign or hint of human life, 
literally lost in the fresh, beautiful u^^lands, — 
alone with the works and the thoughts of the In- 
finite. It was so still, so solitary, yet too spring- 
like in freshness, too exultant in expression to 
seem lonely. Again we came upon the park-like 
beauty we so revelled in only yesterday, of slop- 
ing greensward upon either side, with countless 
tapering larches through which the sunlight fil- 
tered in golden glints with bewitching shadows 
upon the turf beneath. Looking through the del- 
icate feathery branches, against the wondrous 
blue, here loomed up a great cluster of peaks, — 
there a mass of snow-covered heights, while on 
opposite side of a little ravine, parallel with our 
road, lay a long, abrupt ridge with fearfully precip- 
itous face. The cattle, as in Switzerland and Nor- 
way, are taken into the high mountain pastures 
for the summer, and as we passed farther along we 
caught occasional glimpses of mountain hut or 
dairy. Once when we were passing where there 
was no suggestion of human life and were looking 
back over the beautiful, undulating, lawn-like ex- 
panse and the far-away tremendous barrier of 
mountain and snow, from behind a distant })ro- 
jecting cliff or spur, appeared, sharp-cut against 



320 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

the sky, a most picturesque procession of ten peas- 
ant women with bright-colored skirts tucked up, 
carrying upon their heads great trays of cheese 
and butter, — as pretty and spectacular a sight as 
if a part of the scenery of a play. In the fresh- 
ness of early morning, all was as jubilant and 
joyous as if Nature was sounding a paean of 
triumph, — a psalm of adoration upon the still air 
of these expectant uplands. At the end of an 
hour and a half, apparently at the end of the 
roadway, appeared a little knoll with three rude 
crosses, and we knew the summit of the pass was 
near at hand. A few moments later we alighted 
for a half hour rest of our steeds at a pretty little 
hotel, " Albergo Tre Oroce," most attractively 
located. The rooms were tidy and prettily fur- 
nished and every window commanded a view that 
satisfied the very soul. To one side the outlook 
was over a beautiful undulating hillside of lawn- 
like verdancy and beauty. In the distance was a 
fringe of feathery larch as effectively disposed as 
if a study in landscape gardening, while beyond 
were the blue, Uue cavernous depths of the Yal 
Buono, — directly above which was the long, mas- 
sive, range-like pile of ^' Marmarola,^^ over ten thou- 
sand feet in height, with dazzling but sadly torn 
and rent mantle of snow. To our right toward the 
overwhelming peaks, pinnacles and walls of Sora- 
pis, seamed with long lines of white. Beneath the 
undimmed and unclouded sun, the snow gleaming 
and flashing, made these heights seem like the walls 
of an Eternal City. A brief half hour in such 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 321 

enviroument scarcely more than dazes and over- 
whelms and fairly blinds the sight and hopelessly 
confuses mind and heart. It is simply intoxicat- 
ing ! In opposite direction trembled in crystalline 
air, Malcora and Tofano, the giant crags beyond 
Cortina. In a deep dip of the outline of Malcora 
shone the tip of a peak beyond, white with the 
driven snow, — the summit of distant Marmolada, 
with which we stood face to face twenty-four hours 
before. Far away beyond the blue darkling dej^ths 
of immediate ravines, against the sky, bounded 
and fairly leaped for joy this gladsome sunny day, 
a range of varied and mighty mountains sapphire 
and opaline in touch and tint. Back of the house 
bounded immediately upward, so high ! two 
clustered groups of sharp, needle-like peaks. In 
every direction it was a scene fair and beautiful to 
behold, — a play of exquisite color, a riot of grace- 
ful forms and lines. Yet lovely as the situation 
was, we knew it was only one of a great multitude 
tucked away in the Tyrolean and Higher Alps. 
As we had reached the summit of the pass, our 
road upon leaving passed rapidly down the mount- 
ain side. Deeper and deeper lay beneath us the 
wondrous sapphire depths of the Val Buona, so 
glorious and fascinating in color we fain would 
have followed its azure course to Auronzo. But 
at a junction, our road turned away and soon 
began to ascend. Again the fascinating park-like 
effect of smooth turf, pretty knolls and tapering 
larches without number. Upon every sunny slop- 
ing bank the exquisite wild flowers were having a 



323 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

garden party, a lovely sweep of color. In wonder 
and adoration we gazed at the weird, almost fu- 
nereal effect, of the tall green spikes of larch and 
spruce, with their sombre shadows, and through 
and above them, heights of snow-crested and snow- 
draped adamant so hushed and still ! All nature 
seemed at worship and we felt the awe and hush 
that fills mind and heart when one comes into a 
place where prayer is ascending. We climbed 
sloAvly. For a while there was only an interesting 
hill-slope before us ; but behind us, way off beyond 
the valley depths, like a continuous range all 
dashed and dotted and seamed and draped with 
snow, wherever it was possible to lodge, were 
Sorapis, the wondrous Marmarola and the white 
peak of Antelao, not unlike a mighty army with 
banners flashing in the sunlight, seen through the 
unearthly blue and opaline atmosphere insepa- 
rable from these larch and evergreen-wooded hills 
and dark, ravine-like valleys. Before us, over the 
the rounded hill-top, arose the strange clustered 
peaks, the " Drei Zinnen,^^ which here looked like 
the twin gables of two gigantic cathedral naves. 
About noon we came in sight of a small sheet of 
water about one half a mile long and one quarter 
of a mile broad, which in our country would be 
called a pond, but which here basks beneath the 
summer sun under the musical name of Lake 
Misurina. A small hotel and restaurant faces it 
and in its mirror-like surface are reflected the dis- 
tant peaks. Almost immediately after leaving 
we came upon a strange picture, a great open 



Durren-see — Mt. Cristallo 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 323 

space like a lake of green with a billowy opposite 
bank, dark evergreens and alone up and up in the 
sunny glowing atmosphere the weird peaks of 
*' Drei Zinnen/' like some mighty ruin. Then 
through sunlight and shadows we passed again 
into a silent land, for the way led down the Val 
Popena by a toboggan-like road and zigzag route, 
giving a succession of overwhelming visions of 
tremendous opposing slopes as of mountain sides 
and debris flowing like lava or a glacier towards 
the depths ; of the red, yellow and gray mass of 
distant Rossa and glimpses between deep dips of 
the shadowed ranges, of square towers as of some 
ancient stronghold flashing in the sunlight. In 
the bed of the valley, with lovely pink daphne 
making the turf as brilliant as choicest parterre, 
we looked up at Mt. Cristallo rising like a wall 
then breaking into towers and pinnacles of light 
glowing yellow, pale gray and snowy white. About 
half-past two we came to the end of the Popena 
Valley and, through the shady woods, saw in an 
open amphitheatre, surrounded by great mountain 
monarchs, two handsome buildings quite similar 
to a summer hotel in our own land, which, with a 
tiny ancient chapel and outbuildings, constitute 
the station upon the great Ampezzo Valley post- 
road,— of Schluderbach. We fell in love witli it 
at once and resolved we would quickly return and 
have some needed restful days in its quiet enclosure. 
As a matter of fact we returned and tarried sev- 
eral days, not only once, but a second time: andre- 
member it as a delightful resort only second to San 



324 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

Martino in tlie wliole district. The location may 
be described as a bit of widened valley between 
two sudden turns of the mountain range, — a sea 
of green, level and verdant, hemmed in on every 
side by rocky barriers, well covered a long way up 
with wooded or stunted growth. The great rounded 
forms dip low ere bounding up into a group of 
jagged heights, revealing in the gaps, tall, bare, 
gray, snow-flecked pinnacles of Dolomite beyond. 
Other green-sided mountains take up the story 
and carry it along as they bound away in sharp 
outlines and lines of snow. Others rise abruptly 
in a sheer precipice, and everywhere the peculiar 
whitish gray and the dull yellow of the rock faces 
gleam and glisten like scorched and stained mother- 
of-pearl. But the noblest of all, one of the most 
striking and strange sights of the whole country, 
is ''Croda Eossa," the red mountain, a tall 
pyramidal mass of jagged peaks, with sides pro- 
fusely splashed and spotted with touches of the 
deep red of brilliant iron rust, with exquisite shad- 
ings of bright orange and pale yellow upon a ground- 
work of softest gray and white. To sit, even for 
one short hour, and watch this wondrous pile and 
note the marvellous chameleon-like changing of 
tint and color as the sun blazes upon it, or shadow 
of passing cloud rests over it, and as the sky be- 
yond may become gray and leaden, throwing out 
every hue and shade with emphasis, is alone 
worth the journey thitherward. One morning 
the rain fell in torrents, but at an early hour the 
clouds rolled away, the sun flooded the scene, the 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 325 

sky became a most peculiar blue, and in the clear 
atmosphere the colors upon this rocky height were 
so intensified that it seemed in flames ! Oh ! how 
startlingly beautiful the soft grays, the mellow 
buffs and yellows and the intensified reds were, 
for several hours ! An English writer, because of 
the great blood-red splashes and spots, calls it the 
•''Mount of Sacrifice/' The grandeur and sublim- 
ity of the encircling mountains are overpowering. 
One seems in this level, solitary valley depth as in 
;the presence of just men made perfect. The 
hostelry group and tiny chapel alone suggest the 
work and need of man ; — all else is of the heavenly 
■and spiritual. Standing in this open space was 
iike waiting in the centre of some mighty arena 
^surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. It was not, 
liowever, an atmosphere of conflict or strife but 
of perfect, heaven-born peace. The hotel, which 
was a fine one, seemed filled with Germans, and 
^boasts as former patrons the Crown Prince 
Prederick William, and the present Empress 
Prederick. 

In th^ late afternoon of the day we visited Tre 
€roce and Lake Misurina, we returned to Cortina 
by the Ampezzo road, a drive of two hours. Like 
that froniTai to Cortina, of which it is a continua- 
tion, it is through a broad valley which grows per- 
ceptibly narrower as it proceeds northward, with al- 
ways the great mountain walls upon either side and 
frequently some gigantic peak peering above his 
fellows. The superb roadway, smooth and white, 
following the outline of projecting slopes and 



336 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

spurs, often lay before us in a succession of curves 
and bends, handsomely walled upon the inside and 
protected by stone parapets upon the other. The 
vistas through the evergreens ; — the look down 
into the shadowy valley with the beautifully tinted 
waters ; — the deep-shadowed mountains upon one 
side and those upon the other in full blaze of the 
sun, and the constant revelation of sun-kissed 
mountain peaks high above us in the most unex- 
pected places, crowded every moment with delight. 
In one place the road, in order to descend and 
cross to the opposite lower side of the valley, was 
carried in a long loop or doubling, giving the most 
spectacular view upon the route. A night at 
Cortina and we passed this way again, but as it 
was uphill a greater part of the way and we looked 
along the vistas and over the hill country towards 
which our backs were turned before, it had the 
charm of an entirely unknown route. A little 
way from Cortina we seemed to face and go 
steadily towards the very heart of the majestic 
monarchs, looking for awhile at the junction of 
the grandest and loftiest ranges where lay a 
curious mound with red and yellow bands, while 
beyond and above rose a height of softest gray and 
white with copious dashes of red and yellow. The 
half has not been told of the strange and wonder- 
ful colorings in these Dolomite regions. Pictures 
succeed one another most rapidly, for a road can- 
not follow the line of deep coves and cling to the 
edge of projecting mountain spurs without giv- 
ing a variety of unique views. Sometimes we 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 327 

passed upon level plateaus and looked down upon 
thousands of tapering larches and above them on 
the opposite slope upon a single, gigantic, majestic 
peak. Often the road is cut from the mountain- 
side and is supported by masonry. The turn of 
the valley where the road is carried across in a 
great swinging loop, slowly ascending, is very fine. 
Suddenly, as we were ascending, a slender deer 
bounded across the road and in a moment was out 
of sight. Pink daphne, the sweetest and loveliest 
of the wild flowers dotted the banks and slopes 
with all the finished beauty of a carefully studied 
garden. There is a most peculiar finish in this en- 
tire drive, with its superb road bed — lovely larch 
vistas, park-like stretches and the overpowering 
grandeur and majesty of the detached heights. 
As we neared Schluderbach, it seemed as if bril- 
liant sunlight, blue crystalline air, and glittering 
mountains combined, for one last grand '' coup 
d^oeil," for to our left, way up and up, above the 
nearer gigantic mountain range, rose one awe-in- 
spiring cluster of peaks like some superb architec- 
tural triumph of ancient days, shattered and torn, 
but showing still its Gothic form and outlines, all 
dashed and glowing with red and yellow. It was 
the mighty tower of Croda Rossa, so grand, so 
sublime, that instinctively we thought and sang, — 

"Glorious things of thee are spoken." — 

Beyond Schluderbach the valley turns abruptly, 
narrows suddenly almost to a gorge. Tlie great 
mountains compact and rounded, yellow, brown 



328 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

and gray, rise witli impressive effect upon either 
side. Dark forests and bare mountain crags, 
make it peculiarily sombre in the afternoon when 
shadows close in. Very soon is passed the 
the Durrensee, a beautiful sheet of green with 
above it, through a gap in the almost solid wall, 
an exquisite view of the distant '^ Drei Zinnen" 
peaks, wonderfully like the two towers and spires 
of some grand cathedral, glistening in the sun. 
Farther on is Landro, with a backward view singu- 
larly striking and impressive, of the group of Cris- 
tallo with its jagged peaks, its fields of snow and 
its glacier, with Popeno and Cristallino beyond, 
all over ten thousand feet in height. As we stood in 
the shadows of the valley and the sun flooded it, it 
presented the most brilliant, startling and dazzling 
effect we had ever beheld. While the narrowing 
valley was not startling with strange shapes, it was 
fine because of its almost uniform, precipitous 
lichen-covered mountain walls. Beyond Landro is 
quite an extensive fortification commanding the 
valley. The mountains become bolder and the gorge 
narrower, — the little green Toblach-see was passed 
and then we swept through the gateway of the 
valley, guarded upon either side by gigantic heights, 
which bounded abruptly into the air to a height 
of 7,750 feet. Afterwards the valley widened, the 
road descended rapidly through thickets of larch, 
curving and turning in most picturesque fashion. 
In the distance spread before us the open country, 
— the '^ Pusterthal," green and beautiful, but very 
tame compared with the rocky fastnesses we had 



Drei Zinnen 



OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 329 

left so regretfully behind. We came into the 
broad valley in due time and found at Toblach a 
very handsome spick and span modern hotel, facing 
a railway, — the end of the drive through the Dolo- 
mite country, but, unsatisfied because we had not 
seen San Martino, of which we had heard so much, 
we took the railway to Botzen, a beautiful jaunt 
of some three hours, to make, in fact, our journey 
over again. 



m THE SHADOW OF A GEEAT ROCK. 

BoTZEN is beautiful for situation, witli one peer- 
less view sufficiently grand to make it famous. 
Our windows at the Victoria commanded it, — a 
break or deep dip in the far-away mountain ranges 
showing apparently still more distant, in most 
spectacular and dramatic manner, the wild, grim, 
rugged Rosengarten and the sharp sabre-like peak 
of Schlern, one of the greatest Dolomites. At 
sunset, with almost an Alpine glow upon it, it was 
superb. Our journey of an hour by rail brought 
us, about nine o'clock in the morning, to Neumarkt 
Station. Having telegraphed the evening before 
to the " Messaggeria Postale,'' a carriage and pair 
awaited us, and without delay, across a dusty valley, 
with a fine view of a great amphitheatre walled 
with goodly mountains, and an effective closing 
in at end, we drove directly to the village, and clat- 
tered past its arcades and oriel windows and over 
its one stony street and began at once the gradual 
ascent of the abrupt mountain range at whose base 
it lies. It was charming, for the road was carried 
in sharp zigzags or followed the course of deep 
coves, and, frequently high above us and apparently 
flat against the rocky, precipitous sides, could be 
seen the parapet of the continuation of the way. 
In the depths of one cove we looked up at a quaint 

330 



IN THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. 331 

and picturesque old chateau with battleniented 
walls, steep roofs, odd turrets and towers, and later, 
upon turning a zigzag, came quite abreast of it. 
These old castles and half-ruiued chateaux, the 
outcome or growth of an age that is past, perched 
in the most picturesque and well-nigh inaccessible 
points, never lose their charm with our country- 
men, for the reason that they constitute the one 
feature in the landscape which can never become 
a familiar one in our land. The road often is cut 
from the very face of the tall precipitous mount- 
ain, and from such high vantage-ground one looks 
down into, and far and wide through, the great 
valley below. Steadily the road led upward, pass- 
ing in the level stretches many a group of hay- 
makers (the men wearing aprons), through thick- 
ets of walnuts and woods of evergreens until at 
noon we reached and halted for a half hour at the 
Fontana Fredda, a large brewery and inn at an 
elevation of 3,115 feet. For a long way after we 
seemed upon a level elevated valley with evergreen- 
covered hillsides, and at end of vista some distant 
snow-streaked mountains. It was pretty and 
charming, but at no time remarkable. The road 
wound around the hillside through lovely ever- 
green woods, like great dim cathedral aisles and 
following the hill ranges, bounded first one way 
and then another, always with a lovely view down 
in the valley depths. At last it turned a spur of 
the hills and we looked the length of a long, broad 
valley with several villages and churches most pict- 
uresquely situated, and at the end, higli above tlie 



332 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

ranges of mountains, the '^'Fiem-me/' with sum- 
mit wreathed with passing clouds. Later we came 
to Calvalese, where horses were changed and a 
simple luncheon procured. The road, as we gradu- 
ally descended to the Fiem-me Valley, was fearfully 
dusty, which, however, was better than pouring 
rain and pasty road-bed. The valley is modest in 
width, with the Avisio watering its course. At 
three o^clock, well-nigh smothered with yellow 
dust, we drove up to the Albergo Eosa, at Pre- 
dazzo, where we were to spend the night. (It 
would have been better to have pressed on to Pana- 
veggio, four hours^ distant, for the accommodations 
were better. ) The cavernous depths of the entrance 
passage revealed the stable and suggested the pig- 
sty, and was far from attractive. Three men, a 
nice elderly woman and two blooming damsels 
quickly appeared and escorted us to our rooms. 
As in the spiritual world, the higher we mounted 
the purer and sweeter it became, until at the third 
floor we were ushered into clean and tidy rooms, 
with marvellously frescoed ceilings, lace curtains, 
Bohemian glass toilet service and sundry engrav- 
ings Between them was a wide enclosed landing, 
such as Miss Edwards so frequently alludes to, 
where our meals were acceptably served. We really 
had nothing to complain of, but it was very novel 
and exquisitely droll in every detail. We were 
not much impressed with the beauty of Predazzo's 
location as we drove in, dusty and tired, but a stroll 
in the meadows revealed, through the pass of the 
Trovignolo Valley to San Martino, one of the 



IN THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. 333 

grandest pictures we had seen — the distant Cimon 
deUa Pala group of sharp, characteristic peaks, 
flashing in the sunlight ah-eady hidden from the 
little town by the western heights. A handsome 
church faces the plaza of the town, numberless 
balconies adorn the houses, a stream of water flows 
through the streets in a sunken trough, and at 
eventide can be seen the milking of the goats, and 
many aged men sitting on settles, gossiping as old 
women are said to do. \Ye retired early, but at 
nine o^clock the clocks of the two churches struck ; 
the bell of one rang and clanged ; the sound of 
chorus-singing in the cathedral was heard, followed 
quickly by the clatter of the feet of the people 
returning from service, and, when all possibility 
of sleep had departed, a bugler beneath our win- 
dow gave repeated but musical calls. The extreme 
heat led us to make, the following day, the early 
start of half-past six o'clock. Our little vehicle 
rattled over the stones and bore us at once to the 
Travignolo Valley, beside a little noisy river, the 
ascent beginning at once and in one way or an- 
other continuing until noon. The fine road was 
carried over grassy hills by a succession of zig- 
zags, slow to climb, passing a jungle of wild 
flowers, thousands of evergreens and many a 
charming view. We came into an elevated and 
quite level valley, — an Alji, with the snow-streaked 
mountains on opposite side, apparently very near. 
As usual the road followed curve and projection, 
dipping deep in ravines with imposing boulders 
and foaming waters, crossing bridges and follow- 



334 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

ing banks overlooking somber depths. In two 
hours we came face to face and in fine sight of the 
great distant Dolomite peaks of Cimon della Pala 
and Cima Vezzana, piercing the clouds at a height 
of 10,450 feet and more, as they rise above San 
Martino. We wondered where we were, when we 
came upon a temporary elevated railway, used in 
the construction of extensive fortifications upon 
the summit of a mountain commanding the length 
in either direction of the quiet valley. Then the 
road along the mountain-side which looked down 
and down into dark and sombre depths as it passed 
through evergreen woods, became very beautiful, 
quite unlike any we had seen in its intense solitude, 
the peculiar atmosphere and the weird, almost 
ghostly effect of the great company of slender 
larch and evergreens. In less than three hours, 
we reached Panevaggio, a church, hotel, and de- 
pendance, and three or four other buildings in a 
position which commanded a view of surpassing 
loveliness. Over the opposite mountain side, cov- 
ered with firs like a mighty army, against the sky, 
stood alone, a towering wedge-like peak which, 
although unlike, recalled vividly our first startling 
view of the Matterhorn from Zermatt. Two other 
masses show, but they are rounded in form and 
less fantastic and sensational! As soft, white 
summer clouds broke against and half enveloped 
the principal peak, there was a mystery, a grandeur 
and sublimity about it which fascinated and en- 
thralled. The view down the valley, taking in 
hills covered with lance-like evergreens ; one or 



IN THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. 335 

two minor snow-crested heights, ending with the 
monntain spur upon which the extensive fortifica- 
tions, with an air of solitude which can be felt 
brooding over it, is very charming. After leaving, 
our way for an hour and a half was by successive 
zigzags up the mountain-side, through a forest of 
carefully tended magnificent evergreens. This 
part of the country furnishes the masts for the 
Austrian navy, and like all these wooded heights, 
is the property of the State and cared for as ten- 
derly as if a pleasure ground, by foresters and a 
corps of workmen. Every year tiny trees raised 
from seed are planted in great numbers and pro- 
tected by a tripod of staves until too large to be 
injured by cattle. In eighty years, these little 
twigs may be tall, stately trees fit " for the master^s 
use.^^ So carefully is the law of supply observed, 
that it is said, someivhere, trees can be felled every 
year. The beauty of this drive through the cool 
forest depths, with tingling sunlight and bewitch- 
ing shadow through the quiet aisles, — frequent 
glimpses of far-away heights or seemingly un- 
fathomable depths, is beyond description. The 
wild flowers nodded upon the banks, a single red 
squirrel sprang from bough to bough and through 
the columnar vistas could be seen the white, ribbon- 
like road below, over and over again. There was 
little to tell of and yet, so much ! so much of color, 
so much of detail, and oh ! so mucli of wondrous 
combination of far and near, in the cool, quiet, 
exquisite beauty of those weird, solemn Gothic- 
like columns, and in the dreamy, mystical per- 



336 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 



spectives in which air, mountain and sombre forest- 
crowned hills, blended and faded away. We knew 
we were missing much in keeping our carriage 
seat, yet were physically unable to walk. Some- 
times it seemed as if we would never reach the 
summit, — the end of the zigzags, — and we scarcely 
cared if toe did not ! At length looking upward, 
we saw against the sky, the last line of road with 
a tombstone appearing guard. Beaching it, we 
came upon a knoll and, delight of delights ! it was 
fairly covered with clumps of the lovely Alpen- 
rose, which heretofore we had only seen in tiny 
plants. It spread out, growing low like juniper, 
in great masses of the loveliest deep rose-pink 
blossoms, making the great knoll a dream of color 
and beauty. Beyond stretched an extensive green 
Alp with scores of cattle grazing. We were in an 
upper world, far above the lovely scenes of two or 
three hours past. Still, by telegraph poles and 
walls, we could distinguish our road doubling and 
zigzagging a long distance ahead. The way, how- 
ever, did not appear so steep as to make all 
this necessary. When we came to the Rolle 
or Costanzello Pass (6,415 ft.) oh ! what a pano- 
rama opened before us ! We were apparently 
so near the mighty range of Dolomites, — the 
scene was so wild, — the forms so defiant, — the 
peaks and pinnacles so sharp and jagged, — the 
range so lengthy and it was all so fantastic, Ij 
startling and Unvaried by milder outlines, that 
we simply " gave up." The soft silvery gray and 
the yellow glow of the rock, the fleecy clouds 






IN THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. 337 

floating before them giving the strange look 
of processional movement, and the wondrous 
effect of the brilliant sunshine, were simply en- 
chanting. The great peak Oimon della Pala 
(10,455 ft.) is called the Matterhorn of the Dolo- 
mites, but its personal characteristics are suffi- 
ciently grand and unique to justify calling it 
simply itself! We had passed the highest point 
and before us was soon to open a deep ravine-like 
valley, so crowded with interesting and delightful 
visions that it was a shame not to walk slowly 
down and loiter and stop till soul and body could 
hold no more ! From a high table-land we had 
just one view of San Martino (a few white 
buildings, a little church with tower and spire), 
way down in the deep green valley, two thousand 
feet below. It glistened white and pearly as a 
jewel, in its weird surroundings of gray rocks, 
dark, lustrous, fir-covered hills and emerald fields. 
The descent by a magnificent military road, a won- 
derful piece of engineering, began at once. We 
thought we had seen loops and zigzags that could 
not be excelled, but this surpassed them all ! In 
sharp turns, in pretty loops, the road beneath is 
seen repeated again and again and frequently way 
off in the trees, in most unexpected places, gleams 
the little white fluttering ribbon-like way. For 
twenty minutes or more we were shut in, with no 
suggestion of presence or habitation of man, witli 
the grand old range of sharp, needle-like heights 
above, gleaming and glittering in the sunliglit like 
some fantastic freak of nature. Between twelve 

22 



ms THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

and one o'clock we came in full sight of San 
Martino and were soon domiciled in enormous 
rooms in the admirably ordered '^ Hotel Dolo- 
mite." 

San Martino di Castrozza (to give it its full 
name) was with us a case of love at first sight, and 
as at Schluderbach we would gladly have length- 
ened our stay of several days to as many weeks. 
The day of our arrival was so superb, the environ-^ 
ment so exceptionally fine and the long chain of^' 
clustered peaks so thoroughly '^^ Dolomitish/' that 
it impressed us at once and proved to be the most 
satisfactory abiding place we had found. Being 
in the centre of a richly- wooded, basin-like valley 
with a great green knoll or Alp, — with a long 
procession of tall, lancelike, turreted dolomites to 
one side and densely wooded hills on the other, — 
and directly across and closing the view at the end 
of the valley, the long chain of the '^ Vette di 
Feltre," wonderfully suggestive of the Mountains 
of Moab seen from Jerusalem, with at their base 
a glimpse of the Primiero Valley, — it would seem 
as if nothing could be more restful or beautiful. 
One need net do anything, for it is all done for him ! 
Just as one sits in an opera box and sees the spec- 
tacle pass before him, he can sit quietly for an hour 
in the open and note in speechless wonder the 
weird and marvellous changes its short round will 
bring. One moment, the shattered peaks may 
each and every one stand clear and distinct 
against a background of blue or pearly gray ; — a 



IN THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. 339 

few moments later clouds and darkness may be 
around them ; — again the passing vapor may break 
against them and roll away like the smoke of dis- 
astrous conflict ; — the sunlight may touch the edge 
or lining of clouds, glorifying them as by an un- 
seen and Divine presence, and then the mists may 
roll away and, in all the glory of silvery gray, 
golden yelloAV, with slight touch of red, they may 
stand out dazzling and flashing in sunshine. And 
this goes on every hour in the twenty-four ; every 
day in the three hundred and sixty-five, and the 
watchful eye, the sympathetic mind and the rev- 
erent heart may have an unending feast without 
money and without price. Here, one is so close 
to them as almost to be in the shadow of the great 
rocks. Or one may stroll in the woods, full of 
moss and lichen-covered boulders and rocks, — of 
ferns and countless wild flowers, of slender taper- 
ing evergreens which no man can number, with 
occasionally a babbling, noisy brook with waters 
churned to foam by its course over a rocky bed, 
and often through the tree-tops catch glimpses of 
the marvellous shattered peaks and turrets. The 
carriage road as it winds through the woods be- 
comes a poem, — a sweet and quieting song. 
Walking along the zigzag road by which we first 
approached, the view of the wonderful chain grew 
finer, — the peaks seemed loftier, more stately and 
more marvellous. Never have we seen suddenly 
arrested motion so suggestive as in some portion of 
this range ; — one who has laid in a steamer-chair 
and seen the waves of the sea tossed high in air, 



I 



340 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

standing still for a second and then breaking into 
other shapes or tossed off in spray, can understand 
this suggestion. The motion, the tossing of the 
waves, is there, but is held there a thing of beauty 
forever. Yet as you sit in the perfect stillness and 
look up at them and see a bit of fleecy, filmy sum- 
mer cloud float around and break over them, it 
seems as if the whole mass would dissolve and, 
vapor-like, form again in shapes unknown. The 
brilliant sunshine and clear atmosphere bring out 
the subtle charm of the strange colorings of pearly 
grays, soft white, glowing yellow and rusty red, 
with most fascinating and bewitching effect. One 
night we had the " Alpen-glow,'' when the great 
wall or barrier at end of valley, so like the pur- 
ple Moabitish range, was fairly ablaze with quiver- 
ing, shimmering pink or blush. Had those 
glistening rocks been white with snow, we would 
have had a still more glorious vision. As it was, 
the sapphire mountains burned and gleamed like 
brilliant pink topaz and the scene was unearthly 
in its strange weird beauty. Personal taste prob- 
ably colors every opinion, but to us, San Martino, 
the site of an old monastery, snugly ensconced 
upon a verdant Alp, was the most delightful 
place of sojourn in the Dolomites, and there was 
no one single view preferable to the glorious and 
magnificent sweep of mountain monarchs, under 
whose shadow it rests, which guard in such spec- 
tacular manner the entire length of the valley it 
overlooks. 



ALL^S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 

The day of departure from San Martino was 
perfect, — the long line of wonderful and majestic 
peaks was flashing in the sunlight, with more or 
less of thinnest cloud floating like a bridal veil 
around their summits or falling in long graceful 
trails down their sides. The witchery and fasci- 
nation of a mountain chain thus wreathed, display- 
ing a peak here or a great boulder there, high in 
the clouds, is inexpressible, — the more so perhaps 
as every moment reveals some new effect or combi- 
nation. For twenty-five minutes or more of rapid 
driving, the road was exquisitely beautiful, for it 
wound serpent-like through the dense evergreen 
forest in whose cool depths lie huge moss- covered 
boulders, great masses of feathery ferns and the 
loveliest colored stream breaking tumultuously 
over a rock-strown bed. It is only a woodland, a 
mountain drive over the smoothest of roads, but 
nothing could be more beautiful than the play of 
light and shade, the stately grace of the arrowy 
trees, the glimpses of azure valley depths or of 
opposing breathless mountain peaks. Then we 
came into a shadeless stretch, where long since the 
hillside has been denuded of forest growth, where 
we looked down, down into the valley of tlie 
Cismone and over upon hillsides covered with 

341 



342 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

meadows and dotted with many a Tyrolean hut. 
We were leaving behind the illustrious procession of 
abrupt peakS;, and attention was fast drawn to the 
lateral valley rapidly opening before us. By many 
windings and zigzags we finally came to the level 
of Primiero, a drop within an hour of 2,450 feet. 
Rattling through two or three hamlets we came at 
noon to the principal street of Primiero, and at the 
Albergo Gilli found pleasant rooms, a tidy house, an 
adjoining orchard and a garden full of tall white 
lillies, sweet williams, scarlet lychnis and poppies, 
upon which our apartments looked. We were dis- 
appointed in Primiero at first, for from Miss Ed- 
ward^s description we looked for something wilder, 
grander and more savage. The little town boasts 
a small Grothic church most picturesquely located 
upon the side hill in which is a dainty and curious 
Monstrance (a receptacle for the Host) presented 
by the silver miners more than six hundred years 
ago. For Primiero has had a silver day and '^ sil- 
verites^^ without number, as the mines in the 
vicinity were once especially rich. It is Gothic in 
character, exactly three feet in height and is in the 
form of a delicate open work spire, enclosing a 
cylindrical glass receptacle and holder for the con- 
secrated wafer, with small statues and a surmount- 
ing crucifix of gold. It is so delicate it could 
easily be injured, and so valuable, it is a wonder 
that with all the wars and rumors of war, all the 
advancing and retreating of armed and savage 
forces the country has witnessed, that it still re- 
mains intact, a sacred treasure in the humble 



ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 848 

little church. In the chancel built against tlie 
wall is a tall Gothic receptable for it, which carried 
our thoughts to that in the church of 8t. Lau- 
rence in pretty Nuremberg, — of which Longfellow 
sang so sweetly. Directly above the church was a 
steep hill surmounted by a rude cross and small 
chapel which commanded a singularly beautiful 
and satisfying view. Below lay a broad, level, 
cultivated valley with the Cismone, a harmless 
stream at this season of the year, rushing through 
it. In huddled groups in the sweep of a mile or 
so, the brown roofs and white wallsof four distinct 
villages apjoeared. Way up at the apparent com- 
mencement of the valley, where the great wooded 
hills coming down towards one another form an 
entrance or gatcAvay, springs in the middle distance 
an almost perpendicular rock, crowned most pict- 
uresquely by an extensive, but ruined castle. Ow- 
ing to shattering and splitting of the rock it is said 
now to be inaccessible. From the di«?tance it did not 
appear like a ruin but like some long, stately hall, 
curiously lifted into mid-air, its yellow walls burn- 
ing and glowing in the afternoon sunlight. Upon 
the sides of lofty green hills, looking as if a touch 
would start them sliding to the valley below, every 
here and there were perched Tyrolean huts and 
chAlets. The scene was peaceful and sunny for the 
strange Dolomite heights were so high above, that 
there was little of the wild, savage and weird char- 
acter. Away to the south, lifted to the clouds, was 
Mt. Pavione, its shape so perfect a pyramid as to 
seem to have been formed by liuman hnnds. It is the 



344 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

more curious, as it rests upon a foundation wall so 
straight and upright, that it looks artificial. The 
villages so compact yet so separated, each with its 
steep-roofed tiny church, with always a tall square 
tower and attenuated spire, give a peculiar idyllic 
air to the valley. In the twilight we stood awhile 
upon a bridge which spanned the Cismone, and 
looked up at the marvellous heights, with the late 
sunlight still upon them, although we were in the 
gloaming. They do not enkindle love, — they are 
so violent, so hard that they overwhelm with awe 
and astonishment. The uplifted castle showed 
like an apparition in that lonely hour. We walked 
along the river bank and up through one of the 
villages, whose one long street, because of irregu- 
larly placed houses, all gables and balconies, made 
a beautiful and artistic vista. Although it was 
squalid, dirty and forlorn, yet many a window 
blazed with pink and scarlet geraniums, gorgeous 
pelargoniums and lovely carnations ! Before sink- 
ing into sleep, we threw open the windows and 
looked, not up to the ponderous, tumultuous 
shattered heights, but through the glamour of 
silvery moonlight, upon the garden with its riot 
of old-fashioned flowers, while thought turned 
quickly to an old home of years ago, and one who 
was its light, and we felt anew, ^'^the tender grace 
of a day that is dead " could ^^ never come back " 
to us. 

We were sorry in early morning to leave Pri- 
miera for there was much that was pretty and 



ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 345 

quaint in the place itself. Some windows near 
our hotel with masses of nasturtiums or brilliant 
with geraniums, could not have been made more 
artistic. It was another perfect day ! Not a 
cloud ! The great, silvery gray heights away to 
the left seemed to bound into the crystalline air 
with glad exultant buoyancy. Sasso Maggiore 
lifted its cathedral-like towers with peculiarly 
solemn grandeur. The rock-poised castle looked 
a plaything, for, far above it (hidden yesterday by 
clouds) , against the blue, rose an outline of sharp, 
saw-like teeth, — the mountain which Miss Ed- 
wards says " bristles all over with points like a 
porcupine.^' With the usual flourish of a fresh 
start, we clattered through the principal street and 
turned into the broad valley, passing acres cf 
Indian corn and forlorn Swiss chdlets often made 
strikingly beautiful by grape-vines clinging to and 
hanging from the always picturesque balconies. 
The valley gradually narrowed, and twenty-five 
minutes after leaving Primiero became a narrow 
gorge with lofty mountain walls upon either side 
and in the bed a rapid river. The mountain 
sides became precipitous and the formation pecul- 
iar, in that the rock seemed in horizontal layers. 
Narrower and narrower it grew until not more 
than fifty feet in width. We dashed along through 
its exquisite course at a rapid pace when we fain 
would have walked, for it was so charming. — 
We reached Monte Grose at the end of an hour 
where, within a few feet of one another, were the 
yellow and black pole of the Austrian, and the red, 



346 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

white and green of the Italian dividing lines. 
Upon one house were the coat-of-arms and in- 
signia of Austria, — upon the other those of Italy. 
The array was formidable, hut the customs ex- 
amination was confined to the simple question 
whether we had any '' tabac '' ? — In the vernac- 
ular of the dramatists '^exeunt Austria'^ and her 
florins, — " enter Italy " and her francs ! — Then 
along the narrow gorge, with nothing to molest or 
make afraid, — the tortuous valley depth, directly 
after passing the frontier, narrowing to a few feet, fl| 
with the water pouring through a rift worn in the 
rocks. The road excavated from the face of the 
precipitous rocks hung high above it. The 
coachman considerately stopped several times that 
we might look back the length of the sunny nar- 
row valley or down into the depths where the 
water rushed through a gateway or dashed through 
a narrow flume. Often the road ahead, bending and 
winding, following the contour of the projecting 
promontories, looked like a white shelf upon the 
mountain side. Continually we were encompassed 
by sheer or lofty hills with trees and scrubby 
growth wherever a root hold was possible. It was 
a succession of marvellous and beautiful surprises. 
At one turn we looked down the deep valley ahead, 
and there amidst the wildness and the verdure ap- 
peared a fine and lofty single arch bridge of cut 
stone. In the bed below the stream forced its way 
through a wall of rock several feet in height but 
only a few in width. An abrupt, almost angular 
turn in the gorge showed, at a point commanding 



ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 347 

the valley in both directions, Fort Antonio, while 
high ahove it on the crest of the monntains was 
another large fortification. The lovely narrow 
gorge ended, — the valley broadened as we de- 
scended, — vine- clad slopes and orchards appeared 
and the air grew warm and hazy. The road con- 
tinned to excite admiration, for it w^as simply hewn 
from the face of the calcareous rocks. This is 
what military precaution does for the country and 
the post follows quickly. It was amusing to note, 
as we passed through one wretched Italian village, 
a side street with the cognomen " Via Amore." 
In one town there had evidently been an impor- 
tant festa, for workmen were taking down the 
really handsome and effective decorations of arches 
and columns in evergreen, and great fir trees along 
the streets. The air grew w^armer and warmer as 
we came upon the level plain, — the land evidently 
of the vine, for they were trained upon trellis or 
upon tree trunks on every side. 

It was past midday when we reached Feltre, 
where some two hours later we took the train from 
Venice and began the repetition of the route 
already described, but, as it proved, under such 
favorable conditions of earth and air and sky as to 
seem at times like a new and unknown way. For 
an hour we looked from the train upon the smiling 
verdant country, — the fields all " swept and gar- 
nished " by the haymakers, and upon the range of 
mountains which had given us our first idea and 
realizing sense of " Dolomite " form and pecul- 
iarity, and saw at length, upon the plain, the long 



348 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

line of dull red-brown roofs and flashing white 
side-walls and the campanile of Belluno's familiar 
duomo. At the station, by previous arrangement, 
mine host of the Golden Crown at Perarolo 
awaited us with a carriage, for in repeating the 
journey we preferred to divide it differently. 
Along the way for two hours we met hundreds of 
men and women in wagons, carryalls and on foot, 
wending their way to Belluno, from whence at one 
o'clock at night a special train was to depart for 
Padua, for the Festa of St. Anthony on the mor- 
row. We looked at many of them, hard-worked 
and old, and thought of them packed all night in 
the cars (there would be six thousand in all) and 
arriving at Padua at 7 a. m. and remaining all day 
in the broiling sun until 7 P. m. and back again, 
and wondered at the power of a form of religion 
that could call forth such sacrifice and devotion. 
A little of this spirit in Protestantism might bring 
the kingdom perceptibly nearer. We had driven 
over this portion of the route with more or less 
cloud and finally at Perarolo a blinding rain, al- 
though we had seen much of it in full blaze of 
sunshine. Now we were to see it free from vapor 
or cloud, in the long slanting light of the after- 
noon and the cool shadows of early evening. Es- 
pecially grateful were we at the Termine, to see the 
gigantic yellow golden crag which bounds up so 
abruptly upon opposite side of the valley, entirely 
free from cloud and ablaze with sunlight, for it 
was magnificent ! From there to Perarolo it was 
superb ! Happy are they who see this narrowing 



ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL". 349 

valley in the morning light, but more favored 
those who, in the cool of evening, pass tliis way. 
As we passed along the road close to the cliffs, 
encompassed by the shadows of the eternal hills, 
we lifted our eyes above the rapid river and the 
green and rocky walls and saw, far above us, fairly 
in mid-air, glistening, gleaming and flashing in 
full sunlight, the yellow and silver forms of the 
mighty, majestic monarchs. With the loveliest 
imaginable views in both directions, the road 
bends, following the valley curves. The eventime 
was light ; the air deliciously refreshing and cool ; 
the soft shadowing of the valley and the hills grate- 
ful to the eye, while frequently over the summits of 
the mountains which encompassed us, gleamed 
and glowed like pearly or golden ramparts, the wild, 
erratic, tremendous Dolomite peaks. Just before 
the " Albergo della Corona d'Oro " is reached, 
the road bends abruptly and crosses a bridge over 
the stream which pours down a lateral valley. 
We watched anxiously for this point, for when we 
passed this way before, clouds hid the " Presence," 
as Miss Edwards appropriately calls it, and we saw 
but little. But this wondrous evening, stately, 
grand, pyramidal in form, rose against the blue 
sky, unmarred by cloud, the gigantic, majestic, 
regal form of Antelao ! It was oppressively, 
breathlessly magnificent, and with its sun-kissed 
snowy summit, a vision of grand and kingly beauty, 
never to be forgotten. We found the Coronna 
d'Oro more than comfortable and the cuisine ad- 
mirable ; — and from a little balcony looked upon 



350 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 



T 



picturesque chalets and watched the logs like ani- 
mate objects float merrily down the rapid stream. M\ 
Each one is marked with the owner^s name as they 
are started on their way. Many are stranded, but 
a day or two of rain starts them on again. Under 
its present management it is one of the best hos- 
telries upon the whole route. We were favored 
with another perfect day, so, as we passed beyond 
Pararola, we had the view from the zigzags which 
ascend and round Mount Zucco and along the hill- 
sides and over the summits of the fortifications 
above Pieve and the approach to Tai, which be- 
fore we lost because of rain. The wonderful 
journey between Tai and Cortina impressed us as 
it did before, as so broad in valley, so bold and 
stupendous in mountain panorama, that words fail 
to portray it. It seemed as if there was so much 
we had not seen before in the bewitching beauty 
of the near slopes, green and fresh after the recent 
haymaking and rains, of the far-away exuberant 
bounding outline of cloudlike mountains and the 
towering peaks, gigantic towers and startling forms 
looming up undwarfed and unobscured by even 
summer clouds. The variety of suggestive forms 
astonishes and bewilders. It requires no play of 
imagination, for the towers, spires, battlements and 
walls are all there ! The great Pelmo was like a 
huge gray silvery sea wave, while Antelao from 
every coign of vantage was overwhelming. To- 
f ano, with snow dazzling in the sunshine came in 
view, and then ponderous and massive Sorapis, a 
mass of red, yellow and gray, a blaze of color as 



ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 351 

never before. Flooded with sunshine and gladness, 
the whole drive along the base of Antelab and 
SorajDis and on to Cortina was a succession of won- 
derful pictures and effects. AVe passed for the 
last time under the yellow and black pole of Aus- 
tria, — and what was left of our Italian francs was 
transferred to another pocket and our Austrian 
florins had their day again. We lunched at Cor- 
tina, but slept at Schluderbach, and from Toblach 
some eight and one-half miles farther on, the rail- 
way bore us away to lovely Innsbruck, and our 
visit to the country of the Dolomites was ended. 

Again we would emphasize the importance of 
starting from Botzen, or at any rate, of not ignor- 
ing Panaveggio, San Martino and Primiero. But 
it is all wonderful and so unlike Switzerland that 
comparisons are scarcely suggested. These strange 
peaks, jagged and sharp, seem born of conflict and 
strife, and springing up so suddenly, silence, be- 
numb and overpower, and can never suggest the 
peaceful and spiritual as do the long snow-driven 
Swiss heights. From the Eigi Kulm, how spiritual 
and suggestive is the wonderful procession of 
snow-white Alpine peaks and slopes ! One can sit 
and commune in peace as with the Infinite. But 
throughout the Dolomite country the general 
feelinor excited is one of wonder and astonishment, 
and one often fails to get in harmony with it. 

" Like strains of martial music 
Their miKlitv forms suggest 
Life's endless toil and endeavor," 



353 THE COUNTRY OF THE DOLOMITES. 

when one would fain have the rest of quiet com- 
munion with the hills from whence cometh our 
help. 

This may seem a long story of a very brief tour, 
for Venice is not more than one hundred miles 
from Toblach and only sixty of it (from Belluno) 
is by carriage. One thing is essential, nay imper- 
ative, that is, if you would really see the wonderful 
variations of outline and form and the marvellous 
play of color, and that is,— fine weather ! If it 
tarries wait for it, for it will come, and with it an 
exceeding great reward. 



IN 

AUSTRIAN 
TYROL. 



IN AUSTEIAN TYROL. 



IN A POET^S FOOTSTEPS. 

There was love-making in the old nest, — 
beneath the ancestral roof, — among the older 
members of the brood, and a presentation copy of 
Longfellow^'s '^ Hyperion '^ was one of the outward 
manifestations of the inward desire. The book 
was comparatively new, and the small boy heard 
much discussion and conversation regarding it. 
Curiosity may be only another form of commend- 
able hungering and thirsting after knowledge. 
Be that as it may, the small boy wondered who or 
what ^"^ Hyperion ^^ was, and what ^^ a Romance" 
might be. A time-honored old leather-covered 
" Walker^s " (it was before the days when Web- 
ster's great cumbersome ^'Unabridged''' was as 
familiar and as tiresome as a household word) 
soon explained the latter, but the first was not so 
easy of solution. Family censorship of the small 
boy's reading in those days was severe. The im- 
mediate effect of it, however, was defeating, for 
it resulted in the surreptitious possession of the 
book and a perusal of it in private as if reaching 
out after forbidden fruit, from mysterious title 
page to the mournful " roar of the wind through 

355 



356 



[N AUSTRIAN TYROL. 



a forest of pines " with which the graceful melo- 
dious prose dies away. 

As a retrospect the picture of a boy poring over 
the poetic prose and fanciful dreaming of that 
classic seems inexpressibly droll. Doubtless, there 
was much in it he did not understand, but from 
that hour the Rhine, Heidelberg, Lucerne, In- 
ter! aken, St. Gilgen and St. "Wolfgang became ra- 
diant centres about which clustered many a pleas- 
ant, although perhaps profitless day-dream — and 
a sort of a vow was recorded that " some day I 
will see them all.^' But a child crying for the 
moon seems quite as likely to attain his desire as 
the boy at that time of reaching the fulfilment 
of this vow. Years rolled on and repeated ram- 
bles through Europe made the Rhine, Heidelberg 
and Switzerland an old, old story, although ever 
new, while Austrian Tyrol, owing to the impos- 
sibility of crowding more than a certain amount 
of travel in a specified time, was repeatedly rele- 
gated to " 2i> more convenient season. ^^ But at 
last the whirligig of charming travel brought us, 
in weather compared with which our hottest July 
days are cool, to Salzburg, which with its lovely 
environment and peculiar characteristics is one of 
the most beautiful places on the continent. The 
white town lies in the level valley upon both sides 
of the little, but rapid, Salzach. Abruptly from 
the plain rises the " Mornchsberg,^^ an uneven 
wooded hill or mountain presenting a bluff or 
cliff-like face towards the town, the highest ex- 
tremity of which is crowned with the antiquated 



IN A POETS FOOTSTEPS. 357 

fortress-like castle of '• Hoheii'Salzburg," with 
pinnacles and roofs towering four lumdred feet 
above the valley. From afar, this castle-crowned, 
abrupt eminence bounding up so suddenly is 
most striking and picturesque. Our approach, 
in the soft golden light of the late afternoon was, 
because of the course of the railway, which 
brought us in full view of it, then carried us out 
of sight (a sort of ''' now you see it, now you don^t 
see it '' effect) and finally to the edge of the mod- 
ern suburbs, singularly exciting and enchanting. 
Although we w^ere upon a pilgrimage bent, we did 
not seek out the " Golden Ship " where Paul 
Flemming was so ill — for, degenerate souls ! we 
preferred the luxury and comfort of a more mod- 
ern caravansary, and soon found ourselves settled 
by the shaded walks along the river embankment 
with windows facing the uplifted spectacular cas- 
tle. Across the river the houses great and small 
hug closely the precipitous rock face : an elevator 
lifts one to the summit, where is a pleasure ground 
and tower : a j^leasant w^alk through woods and open 
fields past pretty villas leads at last to the castle, 
which, like all medieval structures, has much of 
interest and some odd decorations. A little ele- 
vated belvedere gives one a sweeping view of rare 
beauty over the level valley, the pretty hills and 
the mountains touched here and there with snow, 
undulating out of sight in a great billowy, opa- 
lescent sweep. The town has but few sights, the 
strange old burial-ground of St. Peter being the 
mostinterestinjx, with vaults hewn from the face of 



358 IN AUSTRIAN TYROL. 

the rock — queer little cliapels and much wrought- 
iron work. Altogether, the place is delightful. 

The glamour of a '^ sweet first time ^^ hung about 
St. Grilgen and St. Wolfgang as turning from 
charming Salzburg with its uplifted castle perched 
eagle-like upon a mighty rock ; its environment 
of tossed and bounding mountain lines, and its 
rapid, jade-tinted river, we looked towards Ischl, 
feeling a strange thrill with the thought that lying 
dimly between were the two charmed spots. Busi- 
ly engaged in the final preparations for departure, 
we did not notice an ominous darkening of the 
western sky. Even at the station, with the man 
who could not gain admission to the ark and swam 
off, we said incredulously we '' did not believe it 
would be much of a shower.^' But a few moments 
after we left there came aslant the window-panes 
certain long feathery water-marks. Yet, as it was 
a. two-hours' journey to St. Gilgen we hoped for 
clearing skies. Alas ! it just came harder and 
harder till the great sheeted mass looked as if the 
bottom had clean gone out of the tank itself. It 
was a droll little railway, a sort of narrow gauge, 
too large to laugh at, yet too small to seem to be 
altogether in earnest ! It bore us faithfully and 
slowly into a lovely pasture country with vivid 
green fields, undulating and level : with abundance 
of dark tree-growth and often a fringe of abrupt 
rocky masses, boulder-like and inspiring, seen of 
course ''^through the rain and the mist.'' Until 
we came in sight, within an hour or more, of the 
'* Mondsee," we bore our limitations with cheer- 



I 



IN A POET'S FOOTSTEPS. 359 

ful grace and becoming fortitude, but when the 
gradually ascending road climbed higher upon the 
mountain-side upon a narrow shelf cut from its 
face and we looked down, now upon lovely placid 
green waters, — now through dark evergreen forests 
with pretty roads winding along the points and 
saw picturesque villages, embowered cottages and 
villas, — great, bold, rocky promontories and level 
meadow lands here and there upon the varied 
shores, but lost the distant view, we exclaimed 
'' What fools we were to start ! '^ No words can 
picture the simple, artless, refined beauty of these 
little ^^sees." They are like water-colors in their 
delicate and suggestive tints and forms, with an 
air of purity and peaceful consciousness, quite 
fascinating and satisfying. The Mondsee is but 
seven miles long by one and a half wide, a small 
affair judged by the standard of " bigness,'^ but 
beaming and glowing with beauty in every rod, 
and the more charming because of the variety of 
the marked characteristics of its scenery. As we 
passed from it, we looked down upon Scharfling, 
a pretty village resting like a jewel upon an 
emerald meadow expanse, wdth a great abrupt 
precipice beyond. And then into the woods and 
through cuts and tunnels, emerging at end of four 
miles at the foot of Villa Billroth, a large, square, 
castellated residence with corner towers, most de- 
lightfully situated. In a few moments we saw the 
waters of St. Wolfgang see — and knew the de- 
tached half Swiss houses buried in the trees far 
below formed the village of St. Gilgen. Long- 



360 IN AUSTRIAN TYROL. 

fellow sayS;, .^'^they came suddenly in sight of the 
beautiful lake of St. Wolfgang, lying deep be- 
neath them in the valley. On its shore under 
them sat the white village of St. Gilgen, like a 
swan upon its reedy nest. They seemed to have 
taken it unawares and, as it were, clapped their 
hands upon it in its sleep, and almost expected to 
see it spread its broad snow-white wings and fly 
away. The whole scene was one of surpassing 
beauty.''' Still, in spite of the sun, the rain fell 
heavily ! To prowl about the village was not de- 
sirable ; the proposed boat-ride to St. Wolfgang 
impossible ; a stupid waiting at the little station 
for several hours anything but attractive. Be- 
tween the showers, we walked down a pretty road 
which curved between trees and shrubs and led to 
an open place, upon which faced the "Post Tavern 
by Franz Schondorf er " of the romance — a great, 
square, plastered structure with broad Swiss-like 
overhanging eaves and the " half -effaced painting 
of a bear hunt " carried like a band or frieze above 
the first story. Under awnings projecting over 
the ground-floor, sat a dozen students in boating- 
dress, and several excursionists partaking of light 
refreshments and the ubiquitous beer. The en- 
trance floor and hall with serving-rooms on either 
side, were not attractive, nor altogether satisfactory 
to the olfactory sense. But on the third floor they 
showed us such large, handsomely furnished rooms 
we decided to remain for the night-trusting the 
storm would pass away before morning light. 
What matter if it did rain ? We sat by our win- 



IN A POET'S FOOTSTEPS. 361 

dows and looked down upon an open irregular 
platz with the town pump or fountain, around 
whose curb a grou]^ was almost always assem- 
bled, for there is much talking to be done in this 
world ! A huge barn with shingled and ivy-cover- 
ed sides, houses standing akimbo, just as children 
would place their toys ; streets or roads wriggling 
out of sight and above the roofs the tall tower with 
bulbous spire ; beyond, gleams of quiet lake waters 
over-shadowed by mountains tossed high in air. 
Away off to the left towered into the clouds the 
famous Scharfburg. Evidently it is not vulgar to 
look out of the windows in primitive unspoiled St. 
Gilgen, for upon the lintels were red cushions in- 
viting the elbows and giving a charming bit of 
color to the quiet scene. It was like the setting of 
a story or poem. Later we were able to stroll in 
the gathering shadows to the ancient church and 
its i3eaceful surrounding God's Acre, where a great 
multitude sleep ^^with their arms crossed upon 
their breasts or lying motionless by their sides. " 
The quaint belfry tower forms a porch with open- 
ings into the yard as well as the church. A round 
arched ceiling profusely decorated : a very wide 
altar, two galleries and odd old pews with badly 
indented brass plates and a few tombs was all 
there was to see. Unfortunately we had no copy 
of Hyperion with us, and with the impression that 
the legend we sought was in the church, we 
scanned closely every lettering upon walls, tomb 
and pavement slabs, and began to wonder if that 
too, was romance I 



362 IN AUSTRIAN TYROL. 

Passing out into the churchyard we picked our 
way between pools of water and sundry tumbled 
down crosses and stones to a small square chapel 
in southern corner. The outer doors were open 
but the iron ^' grille " closed. Upon the east wall 
was a tablet with simple framing, surmounted by 
an urn or bowl with flames, beneath which was a 
medallion with figure of Christ with cross and a 
palm-branch and a memorial inscription folloAved 
by the legend which is the text or moral of the 
gentle romance. '^' Look not mournfully into the 
Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve 
the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the 
shadowy future without fear and with a manly 
heart. 

The morning brought the gladsome ^' clear 
shining after the rain." As we threw open the 
casement blinds we stood enthralled with the 
transcendent loveliness of the scene. The bene- 
diction of peace seemed brooding over it, while a 
Sabbath stillness filled the air. We w^ere impressed 
as many times before with the vivid truthfulness 
and correctness of the descriptive passages of the 
book. Although written so many years ago, the 
chapters on St. Grilgen and St. Wolfgang might 
with very slight variation be penned to-day. A 
stroll along the road that leads to the hill-tops faced 
with the quaint picturesque houses and shops of the 
village ; a brief tarry within the ancient quiet 
church and a lovely walk to the shore, and then a 
small boat bore us rapidly out upon the placid 
sunlit waters of St. Wolfgang's Lake. The seren- 



IN A POETS FOOTSTEPS. 3fi3 

ity, tranquillity and exquisite beauty of the scene, 
could not be encompassed with words. With Paul 
Flemming we could truthfully, feelingly say, as we 
looked backward, *' Farewell to thee, St. Gilgen ! 
The quiet beauty of thy lake shall be to me for- 
ever an image of peace and purity and stillness, 
and that inscription in thy little churchyard a 
sentence of wisdom for my after life/* 



THE END. 



The Sacrifice of a Throne. 

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF AMADEUS. 
DUKE OF AOSTA, SOMETIME KING OF 8PAIX. 



H. REMSEN WHITEHOUSE 

Foivnerhj attached to United States Legation at }fadrid; Late Secretary 

of Legation and Consul General to Central America^ Secretary of 

Legation to Mexico; Secretary of the Pan- American Conference 

and recently Secretary of United States Embassy to Italy. 

With full- page Illustratioas of ths Royal Family ia Platiaotype. 
One Volume. 12 mo. Cloth, $1.50. 



"The Sacritice of a Throne," is the title not inappropriately selected 
by Mr. Whitehouye, for his description of one of the most romantic and 
curious episodes in contemporaneous history. Step by step the reader 
accompanies the hero of this historical sketch, prepared from materials 
not within tlie reach of the general public; from the hour of his birth, as a 
member of one of the most ancient reigning Houses of Europe, to his 
acceptance and renunciation of one of the most glorious Crowns of 
Christendom. Briefly outlining the events which led up to the unifi- 
cation of Italy, the writer points out their influence in the formation of 
the character of the Italian Prince, and their bearing on the political and 
Bocial trials which made a further tenancy of the Spanish Throne 
anomalous. 

The description of the first Cuban rebellion; the attempted emanci- 

gation of the slaves; and the proposed political and municipal reforms, 
elp to a better understanding of the social condition of that unhappy 
island; while the glimpse of the complicated phases of Spanish parlia- 
mentary under currents of a quarter of a century ago, assists to a clearer 
appreciation of the difliculties encountered by the government of the 
Peninsula in the present crisis- similar in many respects to that con- 
fronted during the reign of Amadeus. 

In this connection the publication of Mr. Whitehouse's book is 
particularly opportune, occurring as it does at a moment when public 
interest is engrossed by current events in the Antilles. 

The character of Amadeus is carefully studied, and is free from 
undue prejudice. 

Admiration for such qualities as pluck and consistency— attributes 
which appeal forcibly to the Anglo Saxon soul— is not stinted and Mr. 
Whitehouse gives ample demonstration of the poeession of the moral 
and physical variations of these virtties by the young monarch, as 
evinced by his public and private acts. 

Putting aside the purely historical element and diplomatic criticism, 
sufficient romantic and dramatic episode will be found in the private 
I ifi; of the hero to furnish material for the plots of a score of popular 
novels. 

The illustrations, of which there are five, are artistically reproduced, 
and a-id considerably to the general interest of the work. 



BONNELL, SILVER & CO., 

Late with A. D. F. Randolph & Co., 

24 West 22d Street, New York. 



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